Blood of Magic
by VoltageStone
Summary: Many seek to restore witchcraft, including witch-prodigy Diana Cavendish, the last heir to her name. Even with her studious approach and association with deeply-rooted tradition, she cannot find the answer. Then there's Atsuko Kagari; first-generation (aspiring) witch whose talent leaves much to be desired-about as unorthodox as one comes. And yet... [Slow Burn] Dianakko/Diakko
1. Pt I - Apsiring Witches

_Hello there! Before you read, I would like to say thank-you for taking the time to give me and my writing any attention, and also to explain a bit._

Blood of Magic _is, at its heart, a retelling of Little Witch Academia. I will pull from as much of the canon material (including the game and mangas that are translated in english) and repurpose it for this story. The first part of this epic will be based solely off of the films (as of 2020; the OVA, movie and 25 episodes). Each of the titles will have the title of the fic itself, then the part, the title of the chapter, and then the inspiration in brackets before moving onto the story._

_Ah well, I hope you do enjoy this fic, as or after I am writing it! I plan for a long journey ahead, and am grateful for anybody who sticks with it!_

_~Volt._

_:)_

* * *

**~ Blood of Magic ~**

**|Part 1|  
ASPIRING WITCHES  
[Ep. #1]**

* * *

The sun was warm, and the breeze was cool. The day was just right, especially if you were racing along the streets as Atsuko Kagari was, her basket stock-full with food from the local market. Even with her speed, she took the time to enjoy the small town, going down each and every street before getting home; there wasn't any worry of the food as it was all tucked away in a small icebox. And when she began to ride up an incline, her breaths became heavier, and her grip tightened around the handle bars.

She tensed her jaw at the last few pedals and gave a long, tired huff. Atsuko looked behind her and smiled. It was funny, really, that she trained herself to ride all the way up the hill—without pausing—for nearly a decade, and now that she can do it within a few minutes, she was leaving for another country. Atsuko inhaled slowly, then exhaled with the same energy. As she rested (because riding up that incline _was_ a feat), she gazed down at the town below the mountain edge with a small, gentle smile; there was the school Atsuko went to, making friends that all came and went, leaving her. Then there was the school down the road where she was _supposed_ to go, if she was just an ordinary girl.

Well, she _was_ just an ordinary girl. Atsuko smiled cheekily and pulled out a card from her back pocket. _But not for long though..._ The card glimmered in her hands, kept clean just as it was the night she got it when visiting the other country: England. On it was an energetic witch with flaming hair and a cheerful grin.

Atsuko was an ordinary girl, but someday she'd be a witch.

And _that_ was a fact.

Once again, Atsuko pedaled with determination down the road, turning right at the next light. Up ahead, at the very back of the street, sat a small house with an older woman working in the garden bed. She slowed before hopping off the bike, and then walked the rest of the way to the open-garage. "[Did you get the food for your mum?]"the woman asked, picking up her head. Her smile was warm, hair greying.

"[Yes, Grandma, I did,]" Atsuko answered. "[Is she still cooking dinner?]"

"[I think so.]"She finished potting the last of the vibrant flowers and clapped her hands. "[Make sure you wash your dirty hands, Akko! We don't want our food diseased.]"

Atsuko—better known as Akko—sighed, though answered, "[I will. I'm just going to see—]"

"[Akko,]"her grandmother said warningly. "[You will get the house all dirty after you cleaned it.]" Akko pouted, though mumbled that she would do as she was told and walked into the house. She kicked off her shoes and slipped on her slippers.

"'Wash your hands, you'll get the food diseased,'" she grumbled in English; this was always a habit of hers, to complain and swear and shout in English whenever she didn't want anybody to know what was being said. It turned out handy, until her uncle (who taught her initially) gave everybody some lessons after she hissed a mighty cuss in front of him.

"[What are you complaining about now, Akko?]"

She turned towards the kitchen and answered, "[Nothing. Grandma said I was going to give our food a disease.]"

"[Wash your hands.]"

"[Mum!]"

"[Akko! Do not complain behind our backs,]" Akko's mother snapped from the sink, adding in English, "I can talk English." Akko smiled to herself, washing her hands obediently after setting the icebox down. "[What? I said that correctly.]"

Atsuko nodded, then murmured, "[Yes, you definitely did Mom.]"

The woman paused and looked at her daughter, eyes narrowed. Akko watched her as well, somewhat smugly. "[Do not tease me, Akko. What are you laughing about?]"

"[I am not laughing,]"Akko answered innocently. "[I am just standing here.]"

"[Then how do you say it, then?]"

Akko chuckled and replied, "I can speak English." She then explained, "[It is just more proper, Mum.]"

"[Well when I get something wrong, Akko, tell me!]"

"[I will, Mum,]" Akko promised. She just couldn't help but not to. Her parents' slip-ups reminded her of when she started speaking her second language, and her uncle's humored smile. She gazed at her mother as she continued cooking. After a few minutes, when the food was completely prepared, Akko's mom wiped her hands and picked up a framed picture overlooking the sink. Atsuko, years prior, smiled greatly into the camera, holding a large trophy after a long day of running.

Her mother chuckled softly, then glanced at her daughter. "[I remember when you had your stick-legs.]"

"[Mum...]"

Another sentimental grin. "[And look at you now,]" she continued, brushing Akko's bangs from her face, "[growing up. I still cannot believe you are taller than your dad now.]"

Akko drew her attention towards the couch where her father sat, enjoying the television. Like her mother, he was short and not quite as lean and tall as she was. Well, Akko knew that time would come to an end: Europeans were taller, after all. "[Mum...]" mumbled Akko bashfully. She paused as her mother pulled her into a hug, then embraced back.

"[It is going to be a long year without you, Akko,]" she murmured quietly.

"[It will be for me too, Mum,]" Atsuko replied softly. "[But I will show you. I will become the best witch there is, like Shiny Chariot!]"Akko felt her mom chuckle into her shoulder. When she pulled away to her food, Akko added, "[I promise.]"

"[I know you will,]"her mother replied. "[Just make sure you study and follow the rules.]"

"[Mum...]"

The woman arched a brow. "[I gave birth to you, Atsuko! I know what you do!]"

"[Mum! I will, I will!]"

**— — — — — — — — — —**

Gracefully, the rider posted in her trot as the horse with a gleaming coat weaved in between the poles. Her form was immaculate—nothing short of natural. As was everything Diana Cavendish did. And, though it may not have seemed, her breathing was slowly unravelling to become labored; her thighs and calves ached, shoulders sore and arms tired. When she sacrificed her grace and form, Diana spent her energy on raw determination.

_Come on..._ she thought, _just a couple more laps, my friend..._

Of course, a fault in her poise was rare. Hidden. She _was_ a Cavendish, after all.

She looked down at her horse's greying mane for the barest of seconds, noting the thin line of sweat. Diana grinned. She finally tired him out. After years of riding this gelding, she'd only recently begun to have the energy leftover as apposed to her fine steed—even if that energy was worn and aching. "One more jump, Garson," she murmured with a crisp and posh English accent.

Diana guided Garson by the reins and a light squeeze of her leg, sending them off to a lovely canter. Just like his rider, Garson was flawless. His hooves thumped against the ground in fluid motions.

At the sudden cough, however, Diana grunted and lost a stirrup. She thinned her lips as Garson jumped over the poles, landing with a trip. He slowed to a walk and turned his head around; the weight on his back was certainly lighter, wasn't it?

She sighed, scooping herself up from the arena's dirt.

Diana patted her breeches of dirt before strolling towards Garson, petting his neck. "Your hooves need to get done, don't they?" she asked quietly. She slipped the reins over his head and led him back towards a stepping-block. The cough wasn't too much of a concern, though it was a sign that _perhaps_ it was time to cool down. He was just older and not the feisty pony he once was.

And because she learned that the number-one rule of falling off a horse is to get right back on (unless there is something broken, of course), she eased her way onto the saddle. Push through with determination, just as a Cavendish would.

"We're not doing anything," she muttered, "just walking around." With a small smile, Diana recalled the days where she was not to get off her horse until she was in sore shambles. In due time, it was until Garson was tired, in desperate need of some fresh water and grain.

After a couple of laps of walking, Diana got off the saddle and walked to the small stables, Garson right beside her. An older woman chuckled as she stepped inside, walking towards Garson's stall. "I see you tumbled a little bit by the jump?" she asked.

Diana nodded. "I'm glad that the arena was just covered, otherwise it would've been a rough landing."

"What happened?" she asked, resuming her sweeping. "It's not often you fall off."

"I lost my stirrup, then my balance," Diana answered.

"Ah. Just like the last time... And what was that, two years ago?" Diana pursed her lips bashfully at her maid's hidden compliment. The woman smiled softly and asked, "Are you ready to go back? I'm sure Garson will miss you."

Diana answered, "Yes, I'm sure." She patted Garson's neck as she continued to untack the saddle, saying, "And you'll enjoy our next ride even more by then."

Garson continued to chew his grain.

Diana turned towards the maid. "Anna?"

"Yes, Diana?" the woman responded.

"Will my aunt be back?"

Anna pursed her lips, her gentle, rare smile fading away. "I'm sure... Don't worry, Diana. I will keep you informed. Just get your education, dear. Your parents would be so proud if they saw you now."

"Thank-you," Diana murmured. Once all of the tack was pulled off of Garson, she shut the stall door behind her. "I will put everything away then pack my things. I plan on leaving by noon."

"Alright, Missus. And I will sort your room, then."

Diana gave a brief smile. "Don't worry about that. I'll go and do it myself."

"If you must, I'll leave you to it," Anna replied with a smile of her own.

**— — — — — — — — — —**

She inhaled the spring air with a grin. London, unsurprisingly, had dirty air compared to her hometown, and Akko was worried that Luna Nova would be the same. Nope. Gladly, she took in more, her lungs happily feeling clean; Blytonbury was the same as her town, aside from being not as humid and thousands of miles away (of course). "Alright!" she said to herself, pulling out the pamphlet in her back pocket. "I'm finally here!" She also took out her Shiny Chariot card gleefully. "I'm gonna be like you, just you wait!" Akko promised.

"As soon as I know where the bus station is..."

Atsuko looked both left and right of the street, and found no such thing. Locals, however, were present. She huffed, shouldered her handbag and rolled her suitcase alongside her hip.

Akko confidently strolled towards a woman coming out of a coffee shop. "Nice day isn't it? Do you—" She paused as the woman avoided her gaze, brushing past her. "I..." So this town was cold. Akko grumbled to herself; _her_ town was nicer, at least. People were polite.

Then again, they were also nervous whenever somebody who was obviously _not_ Japanese._ Yes, that's it. Everybody here is European, and I'm an outsider. Understandable. _She nodded her head once and continued forth. Not towards that woman, though. Akko knew that wouldn't go smoothly. "Hey, sir?" she asked a man as he walked to his car. He shifted his glasses and gave her some attention. "Do you know where the bus stop to Luna Nova is?"

A strange expression crossed his features. It wasn't malicious or threatening, by any means, though he certainly didn't take her question kindly. With an awkward mash of irritation and embarrassment, he answered, "I don't know much about witches to begin with."

"Oh. Well thanks anyway!" she replied. The man nodded gruffly and quickly slipped into his car.

Her next attempt: three women on their lunch to catch up on things. "Do you know where the bus stop for Luna Nova is?" Akko, now getting somewhat desperate by this point (even if third time is a charm), she brandished her card. "I'm going to be just like Shiny Chariot!"

"Oh," one of the women, a blonde, replied. "At least you're not one of _those_ witches, are you?"

"Huh?"

"We don't know how to get to that place," another woman said, her tone clipped.

Akko took the hint. "Well...thanks." She strode quickly away, muttering in Japanese, "[What is wrong with those women? I was just asking a question! And what witches are they talking about anyway?!]"Once at the end of the road, she sighed and gathered her nerves. It would be no use blowing up on people, especially since Akko was _so_ close to finding Luna Nova. She could just feel it!

She glanced briefly to her side. With a rush of realization, she snapped her attention towards two boys at a playground, toying with a DS. Akko walked to them and immediately got their attention. "Hey, do you know where the bus stop is for Luna Nova?"

One of the boys arched a brow. "There's never been a bus station here," he said.

_Oh... _"Thank-you for answering," she replied. The boy nodded then went back to his game.

She rolled her suitcase away towards a bench then sat down on it with a huff. Akko read through the pamphlet again, awfully discouraged. "No bus stop, huh? Was this all a waste of time...?" She sighed and then hissed, "Why are these directions so confusing anyway? And why does it have this stupid tower—"

Akko caught sight of a large tower on a hill, overgrown with vegetation. She studied the pamphlet, then looked at the tower. "Oh," she mumbled simply. _The pamphlet literally had a picture of the thing. Dammit Akko._

With her confidence back, she abruptly stood up and gathered her things. "I found it!" she cheered. Akko raced down the street towards the tower, eyes glued (well, until she heard a car and avoided swerving off the sidewalk).

And maybe she should've avoided crashing into someone.

After landing on her hind, Akko didn't miss a beat and rushed, "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to—" On the ground, she noticed her pamphlet laying on top of another, identical one. "Hey!" She got to her feet and watched a girl, who she assumed was a witch, pat her broom and collect her things. Atsuko handed her a pamphlet. "You're going to Luna Nova too?"

The girl paused. She was plain like her clothes; pale complexion with a straight nose and expressionless features. Her grey hair, tinted with a dull violet, hung straight, hiding half her face. Akko noted that the one eye she saw was far from plain, but instead a deep, rich brown flecked with fire.

_Not a talker, huh?_

She tried again. "I am!" Akko continued. "I'm not really sure how good I am at magic exactly, but if going to Luna Nova means I'll be like Shiny Chariot, then I'm sure I'll get better!" Excitedly, she presented her favorite Shiny Chariot card. "See this? I've been collecting them for years! Right now it's all I have to remind me what I want to do, except for this one poster and—" Some of her things were still scattered across the street, one of witch a stuffed bird resembling the white bird—eagle? Vulture? She really didn't know—that was Shiny Chariot's companion. "And that! I've had him for years."

The girl, silent, uncorked a bottle that she had in her pocket and allowed a drop to spill onto the stuffed toy. "Oh? Is that...?" The bird shivered to life and hopped around. "Is that puppet magic? I've never seen it up close before!" Akko bent down and watched her favorite toy stumble towards her. "That's so coo— _ACK!_ It got my eye!"

She hissed and clutched her left eye where the bird pecked it. "That's not nice!" she said as the witch began to walk away, the stuffed bird pecking at her feet. Nevertheless, Atsuko hurried to follow her and jogged forward with her luggage at hand, the bird on her head. "But have you heard of Shiny Chariot?" she babbled as they made their way across a small bridge crossing a river. "Oh!" How could she forget?! "And I'm Atsuko Kagari, by the way, but call me Akko. It—"

Suddenly the girl halted and turned around. Still impassive, she stretched out her hand. Akko blinked, then smiled and shook it with both hands, saying, "Nice to meet you! Will we go to Luna— _FUCKING!_" She screamed as snakes twisted around her wrists, hissing violently. Akko stumbled backwards and fell over the edge of the bridge. Gasping, she swam to the surface, now sour; she could of sworn the witch smirked.

Atsuko raised her hands where the snakes were. Nothing but old pieces of rope. Even so, it was still a cool magic trick. Well...if it hadn't _attacked_ her. She huffed and looked up to the cloth bird on her head. "I don't think she meets very many people."

The bird pecked her forehead lightly in agreement.

Akko heaved herself out of the water and went around to the bridge, collecting her suitcase. Luckily that hadn't fallen with her, unlike her bag and backpack.

Dead-set on her goal, Akko sopped forth, following the path towards the bus stop with leaking shoes and dripping luggage.

"Who does she think she is? I was being nice to her!" Akko ranted to herself. First the town and then a witch. Maybe _she_ was the type of witch those women were talking about.

A tug at her gut told her otherwise. Maybe? She didn't _really_ know.

Atsuko continued with her tirade. She hoped Luna Nova would be more welcoming. Not that being _unwelcomed_ would stop her from chasing her dream, though it would certainly make it harder. On another hand, however, it could be a potential challenge; Akko would prove her worth and silence all those who ignored, taunted or fought her with her own toy and rope-snakes.

Yes. Absolutely.

As she neared the bus stop, Akko grinned. There were three more witches with their brooms in— "Are those Luna Nova uniforms? Maybe they'll help me," Akko said.

From a short distance, she heard one of them: "Did you hear they're actually letting in someone who's not even from a witch's family?" one witch asked, playing with her raven hair before tossing it to the side.

"You're kidding! They're actually letting in commoners now?! I thought that was a rumor!"

Akko slowed to a halt. Surely there was _another_...err, commoner joining too, right?

Another girl shook her head. "No. I heard it's because the school has been losing money and are getting desperate."

"I bet she can't even ride a broom."

_Well...maybe they won't help then—_

"Hey, who're you?"

Atsuko froze, then undid the one-eighty she had spun. "O-Oh... I'm Atsuko Kagari."

One of the girls, with raven hair, sighed. "Oh. You're the one. _Do_ you know how to ride a broom?"

"Ah...not exactly. But I've practiced!" Akko assured with a meek chuckle.

"Uh huh..."

Akko teetered at her feet, looking around to avoid their stares. "So...that bus is taking a while, am I right?" she asked, weakly.

They snorted in unison before laughter brought red to Akko's cheeks. "_Bus? _You're kidding! Witches don't need buses!"

"Tia freyre!" they chanted, their brooms charged with magical energy.

Akko grew silent as they pointed the ends of their brooms to her chest. "This is a ley-line, got that?"

"It's common knowledge, you see."

"All witches know how to use brooms. It's the easiest thing to do for us!"

"_Well_," chortled the girl with raven hair, "maybe not for a moron like you."

Another girl with short hair and hair clips added, "If you can't fly, you won't get to the ceremony!"

They all hopped on their brooms and hovered in the air. "And you'll get kicked out if you don't go!"

Together, the witches then casually flew into the tower, explaining, "This is the magical highway!"

"We don't need buses."

"They're _so_ primitive."

Bouts of giggles erupted as they zoomed up towards the top of the tower, and Akko trotted inside. They were gone, vanished behind a bright, green light. _A...ley-line? That does make more sense than buses, _Akko internally admitted. She may not have a broom, but surely she could just climb up and reach it, right? Atsuko glanced at her suitcase left outside. _...but with the suitcase?_

She frowned with determination. There was always a way. Not obvious every time, but there always was a way. That's what her grandmother always claimed.

Once rolling her suitcase inside the tower—the shade was nice, even though the day was cool enough outside—Akko opened it and stuffed her small backpack inside. She looked at the bird and asked, "Are you going to stick with me or cause trouble?" He fluttered his wings. She took that as a gesture of not-going-to-peck-her-eye-again. She then zipped up the suitcase and pulled out two old sweaters from her large bag. Akko then meticulously tied the sleeves to the handles and then slid her arms through the make-shift straps.

Akko grunted lightly, getting used to the weight. She was now grateful for her father's constant effort to put her in sports and other physically-numbing tasks; riding the bicycle up the incline was his idea, too. And the suitcase was light compared to the heavy bags of rice he had her carry (up the same incline) whenever they ran completely out. _"[You will be a great strong woman if you are not a witch!]" _he would always say.

Akko would grumble though obey her father, and now look at her. Climbing a brick wall, relying on the roots of whatever was growing at the top, with a hefty suitcase on her back, and a large bag slung over that.

Her choice of roots, though, proved to be an issue.

Akko grabbed onto a weak and brittle root as leverage, only to fall meters down. On impact, she groaned and stared up at the ley-line. Whether it be from the mild pain or fact that she wouldn't be able to make it to the ceremony on time, her eyes watered. Akko was quick to wipe them.

At the sound of a trip, items tumbling and someone whining, she felt there was _some_ hope left. Atsuko craned her neck backwards and saw a witch hurriedly picking up a slew of items. "Why did Mom pack so many things? I don't need all this stuff! I'm— Gah! I'm going to be late!"

Akko was by her side immediately, holding some trinket in her hand. The witch looked up at her, adjusting her hat with a red band. Her ginger hair curled around her glasses with doll-blue eyes blinking in surprise. "Oh, why thank-you," she said, packing the small trinket. In a rush, she started forward, halting in the tower beside Akko's luggage. She cleared her throat and said, "Tia fre—"

The witch stared at Akko who hovered by the entrance awkwardly. She gulped. "Erm...aren't you going too?"

Akko nodded. "I don't have a broom," she said, quietly, "and I don't think I know how to ride one."

"O-Oh. You're new, aren't you? I haven't seen you around before." Akko nodded again. "Well...I'm Lotte..."

"Atsuko Kagari," she immediately said with a giddy smile, only to cough and add light, "but...call me Akko."

"Okay, Akko. ...do you need a ride?"

"Yeah! Thanks!" Akko exclaimed, hurriedly gathering her luggage.

The girl, Lotte, only smiled politely. As she situated everything on the broom, she asked, "What's your accent? I've never really heard anything like it before."

"Oh." Akko paused, somewhat bashful. "Well, I'm Japanese but my uncle taught me how to speak English, since he travels internationally. But he's Dutch."

"That's interesting. Do you speak Dutch too?"

Akko shook her head. "No. I should have learned though, but I really only learned English so I could come to Luna Nova," she said. "A lot of his accent carried over, I guess."

Lotte nodded, and soon they both were on the broom. "Yeah. I can kind of hear it now you've said it. I honestly didn't know what it was," she replied. "Not American and not English, or Finnish." She then complimented, "You have a really interesting accent, though. It's not terrible like some others."

Atsuko laughed once and said, "Thanks."

"Tia freyre!" Lotte incanted, sending the broom up a meter. "You ready to go?"

"As ready as you are..." Akko's grip around Lotte's waist tightened as the broom pointed upwards, abruptly sending them off. She yelped in surprise at the sheer force of the wind before becoming enamored by the array of light spiraling around her. "I-Is this a ley-line?!" she asked, voice raised.

"Yeah!" Lotte answered. The broom tossed and jerked. She grunted and said, "Hold on, there seems to be some turbulence!" A sensation grew inside Akko's chest, warm and fuzzy. Though once the ley-line flashed with light, it spliced her chest like a seriated blade. She groaned and held Lotte tighter. The ginger—still dazzled by the sudden flash—took notice. "Are you okay?!"

"Fine! Just...just keep going!"

The broom bucked.

"Hey, do you have any salts?!"

"What?!"

"Salts! Ley-lines don't like anything like that! It throws off the energy and magnetic field!"

Akko, her chest now searing painfully upon another crackle of light, winced and pulled out a small container. "Like this?!"

"What is that?!"

"Pickled plums!" Akko answered proudly. "They're good for your skin!"

"Toss it!"

"_What?_"

"Just— Just toss it!" Atsuko did so, with hesitance.

Once the pickled plums were tossed away, Lotte grunted and the broom teetered to the side. "Gah! We're falling off the ley-line! Do you have anything else?!" Akko groaned, her head suddenly swimming, and her vision blurred. She felt like everything was being sapped from her being as they began to cross the edge.

"Akko, do you have anything else?! We're already drifting too far off course and I'm going to start using the magic reserves on my broom!"

"I—" Words left her as she felt her energy drain; was she coming down with a fever? No, it was far worse than that. Her nose began to bleed. "Shit, not again," she hissed, slapping a hand over it.

"What's happening?! Are you okay?!" Lotte shouted.

"I-I get nose bleeds whenever I g-get this ache—!" She grunted, jaw tensed. "I-I'm fine! It's just...never...gotten this...b-bad..." Her words slugged into a whisper.

Lotte screamed as the ley-line shoved them out, the broom's path barely clinging onto the sidelines. As the ginger tried to navigate the best she could towards the ley-line, she noticed that the magic reserves on her broom didn't suffer; this was despite several witches in the past (including her mother) telling her the edge of the ley-line was the most dangerous as magic is often completely zapped—an odd phenomenon to say the least, but one that may be false after all... "Akko, I-I'll try to guide us towards— Akko?" The grip around her waist was slipping. "Akko! Hang on, I'll—"

Too late.

While Akko's slumped body managed to wrench them back into the ley-line, she completely let go of the broom. Lotte bellowed her name once again, and realization hit her like an anvil: Atsuko was out cold. She didn't even flail through the ley-line, but instead fell like a rock; she even smacked right into another witch, previously oblivious with a book. "Akko!" Lotte screamed, leaning just too far off her broom handle.

All three witches were tossed out of the ley-line, dewy wind scratching their skin as they plummeted.

Akko groaned, blinking.

Everything was blurred. The pain in her head spiked, then dulled.

She watched as her hands reached for the clouds growing further and further away, drops of her blood from her nose splashing against her fingertips.

What was she to do? Her body willed for her to rest, and so she did, allowing herself to be taken away by gravity, deaf to the startled cries of two other witches above.

**— — — — — — — — — —**

Luna Nova.

It was the second semester, and Diana still felt the anxious excitement of setting foot on the grounds again. She stood away from the entrance where all the professors and students were funneling inside, watching. Despite the waves and brief greetings from the witches that did pass close to her, Diana found that she was isolated. It was no secret that everybody admired her—the staff included. Almost to the point she didn't _need_ to prove herself. Yet proving herself was what her mother taught her, and her father, and then Anna once they...

Crestfallen, Diana sighed and watched the grass for a moment. _Cavendish_. That name already paved the way for her success. And every waking moment of her life was to live up to that name, and through that Diana found her talent. At least she had _that _going for her.

_"I wouldn't expect anything less from a Cavendish!"_

_"Oh, such raw talent from a respectable family! Not a surprise!"_

_"Wow, Diana, you're so smart! You're even better at magic than the teachers!"_

She frowned and tightened her lips. There was one comment that she was once given, one that she kept close to heart: _"Such a polite and humble girl..." _It wasn't even to her face.

Diana held her wand and extended it. She gazed at the instrument, vaguely recalling the days of her non-existant abilities. Absentmindedly, she twirled her wand and flowers bloomed at her feet. For such a simple comment, it carried its weight, especially since it dated back to the time where she could only _dream_ of flowers blooming at her whim.

Diana sighed and slipped her wand back to her blue sash wrapped around her hips. She heard there was a few new students coming to Luna Nova—even one from a non-witch family; that particular line of gossip was hard to escape. Diana hoped that whatever talent would be brought to the school would be enough to stand against her own. She wanted a fair competition. When's the last time she'd ever felt her heart pound out of anticipation, wondering just who would be the victor?

Never because nobody ever played with her as a child. And now that _everybody_ wants to play with her, she outmatches them all—enough to the point Diana couldn't even deny it.

But she desperately wanted an equal. Someone to force her to prove her name. Not Cavendish. _Diana_ Cavendish.

"There you are, Diana!"

She turned around to find her other team members, both of which she considered to be friends. Or at least, girls who made it their mission to never leave her side. Hannah England smiled, fixing her tall hat over her auburn hair whilst Barbara Parker grinned and said, "We've been looking all over for you. We got something to tell you!"

Diana arched a brow. "And what's that?"

Both snickered. Hannah answered, "We met the first-generation witch, if you'd even call her that."

"Yeah. She was looking for the ley-line and asked where the bus stop was," Barbara chortled. "Can you believe that?"

Diana chewed her lip for a moment. "I wouldn't be surprised... If she's first-generation, she wouldn't know."

Hannah nodded slowly. "I _guess_, but still. You can't expect witches to use buses, now can you?" Diana remained quiet as they continued to laugh to themselves. Her hopes of any true competition was dropped; if this was true, maybe she wouldn't find someone that could par with her abilities. It was too much to ask for, she supposed. "And she's like Chinese or something."

"Maybe Japanese?"

"Yeah. I don't know. At least she speaks english well so we don't have to deal with another confusing accent," Hannah said.

"At least there's that."

Diana walked forward and said, "Whatever the case, we must go and find our seats at the ceremony. Come on." The two witches nodded and followed suit, flanking her sides. _Japanese, huh? At least she will be interesting... _Diana thought. After all, when had she'd ever seen an eastern Asian witch come to Luna Nova? _At least there'll be some change of pace. _

Yes. At the very least.

Luna Nova was just as pristine as it was on the inside as it was on the outside. The air was cozy as opposed to the cool breeze Diana just escaped. "Oh! Miss Cavendish, it's nice to see you again," an older witch said with a smile, standing by the tall, grand doors.

"Thank-you, Professor Badcock. I'm glad to be back for another semester," Diana replied. Curiously, she added, "Is it true there's a first-generation witch here?"

Professor Badcock nodded slowly. "Though, I don't think she's come yet—"

"Probably took a bus..." Hannah whispered.

"—so perhaps not. If she does, it'll be interesting to see how she fairs with this school. I do wonder if she has any of the capabilities to back her up. It takes a lot for someone to come here, you know," she continued, oblivious to Barbara and Hannah's chuckling.

Diana wasn't, but she ignored it all the same. "Yes, I do wonder. And coming in second semester of our term, as well..."

"That is true. Anyway— Yes, Ursula?" The older witch blinked with mild irritation.

A young woman paused and glanced at the four bashfully. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I bump into you?" she asked, flustered.

"It's quite alright. Just...where are you going? The ceremony is the other way," the professor said.

Ursula fixed her glasses and her dark blue hair, spending a quick look towards the students. Politely, Diana greeted, "Good afternoon, Professor Callistis."

The young professor smiled gently. "And to you too, Diana. Now, I do apologize. I just need to quickly run back to my office. I have...a feeling."

"What about?"

Ursula shrugged. "I don't frankly know. Something with the ley-line, there's a sort of disturbance."

At that, the older witch—whose blue hair was far brighter than Ursula's—raised her eyebrows. "Of what sort?"

"Nothing major, but...there's certainly something strange going on..." She frowned and Diana barely saw how her fiery eyes churned, a blood red surging within them.

Diana was intrigued—outrageously curious. If anything happened to the ley-line, it was a bad omen. But she wondered... _Bus stop... She wouldn't know about ley-lines. Could it be...? _"Something about the new student?"

"Maybe," Ursula murmured, "but that's not... There's something else and I can't quite put my finger on it." She jerked and apologized again: "I'm sorry. You all go head to the ceremony. I'll overlook this small matter myself."

"Okay," Barbara said. The students broke away, leaving Barbara to say aloud, "Watch she brought some salts or something _obvious_ like that."

Hannah chortled. "Yeah. Or she tried going to the side."

"Either way, it wouldn't be funny," Diana grumbled shortly. Both witches snapped their jaws shut. "If anything happened she'd fall. I hope nothing like that would be true, even if she isn't a good witch." Hannah and Barbara remained silent. "Come on," she added quietly, "let's just get to our seats."

**— — — — — — — — — —**

Upon blinking herself awake, Atsuko groaned, weakly blocking the sun from her eyes. Confused, she stared at the two faces huddled above her, one expressionless and the other concerned.

"Looks like she's up," the witch from before muttered. "See? I told you she wasn't dead."

"But she might be hurt," Lotte retorted. She glanced back down at Akko, who sat up and rubbed her temple. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah? Where are we?"

Lotte sighed and looked around. "Not at Luna Nova, that's for sure."

Yes, she was right. Akko furrowed her brows and studied the environment around her. Nothing was like the pamphlet. Instead of a grand castle and luscious grass there were rotting trees and moldy dirt. Slowly, after she was certain nothing was broken (though perhaps scratched and bruised), Akko got to her feet. At her slight wobble, Lotte asked, "Are you sure you're alright?"

Akko nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure... What happened?"

"Well, the pickled plums was rejected by the ley-line, so we got rid of them...then I think I lost my balance and we teetered to the side."

"You mean you guys actually went off the ley-line?" the other witch asked, frowning. Lotte nodded. "And...nothing happened to your magic supply?"

"No...? We were— Well, _I_ was fine, but Akko, you fell off the broom."

Atsuko bobbed her head and scratched the back of her neck. "I do kind of remember blacking out. I can't remember anything after we slipped away from the center."

"You guys actually got out of the ley-line?!"

"You mean you don't remember anything? What happened, do you get air-sick or something?"

Akko shook her head as the other witch silently fumed over not getting an answer. "No. I'm actually really good with motion sickness. I've never really gotten it before. Well, unless I spin around a bunch of times."

"Hey!" Lotte and Akko blitzed around, facing the other witch. She sighed and asked, "You two went out of the ley-line and managed to keep enough magic to get back in?"

"Yeah. I really don't know what happened," Lotte answered.

"That _can't_ happen. Ley-lines have a shield, keeping everything concentrated so we can use it. It soaks up and blocks all other magic to prevent it from interfering," she explained. "Magic reserves or not, you two should've dropped regardless."

"Oh." So that phenomenon wasn't just a hoax. "But then why...?"

Akko sighed and shook her head. "It doesn't matter now, does it? We have to get to the ceremony, right? Otherwise we won't be accepted at Luna Nova!" She took another look around. "But where _are_ we?"

As they began to wonder around, following the witch-from-before, she answered. "Arcturus Forest."

"Arcturus..." Lotte's eyes widened. "You mean the _forbidden _forest?!"

"What? Never heard of it," Akko said.

"Well, it's said whoever comes in never gets out, even a witch!" Lotte replied with a quiver. "I don't know exactly where we are, but Luna Nova's in the center of it... The Arcturus Forest is so huge, we might never make it! Especially with this!" She raised the remains of her broom, holding only the handle attached to a lit skull-lantern.

Atsuko asked, "Did you lose anything else?"

Lotte shook her head. "I mean, some of the souvenirs, but the important stuff no." Akko halted and her heart stopped for a moment. "Hey, are you—"

"Where is it? Do I have it? Where is _it?!_" Akko began frantically searching her pockets as Lotte stopped with her suitcase beside her. She dove to the side of Lotte and scrambled through her backpack stashed within the heavy luggage. She sighed in relief. "Oh thank _God_. It's here." Shiny Chariot's card was safe. "Sorry," she mumbled, zipping up the suitcase, "I just got worried. And thanks for carrying my stuff."

"No problem. What was it anyway?"

"A Shiny Chariot card," the witch-from-before answered, kneeling on the ground. She continued to study the indentation in the soggy dirt before adding, "She's obsessed."

"I'm not— Okay, maybe I am but Shiny Chariot is the best witch I've ever seen!" Akko stated proudly, holding up the card. "And if you don't think so, then you...you..." She watched as the witch-from-before paced around Lotte and Akko, feeding a long rope in a circle around them. "What are you doing?"

The witch-from-before didn't answer. Instead, she stopped and took out another bottle. "Juris haras haras," she murmured, spilling a drop. Immediately the rope came to life, and for a second Atsuko was nervous that they'd turn into large, terrifying snake. Instead it conformed into a tight, sturdy ball.

Lotte tapped the side of the sphere. "Will this help us get out of here?" she asked.

There was a shrug as an answer. "Just say this spell: 'Katchur katela hurala.'"

Akko nodded. "Katchur katelala hura...ra...ra?"

"No!" The witch-from-before groaned. "'Katchur katela hurala!' And loud too! Use your diaphragm!"

Dutifully, she inhaled. "KATCHUR KATELA HURALA!" Akko's voice echoed throughout the forest, the trees bristling against the breeze. She saw nothing, but most definitely felt something stir within the ground. She knew Lotte felt it too, judging from her curious stare whipping her head around.

Abruptly, a loud cluck erupted behind them. Both Lotte and Akko turned around, then jumped as a giant rooster's head peered down at them, its dragon-or-snake tail whipping angrily. It must have been at _least_ twenty meters.

"Uh...hi big guy..." Akko leaned backward towards the witch-from-before and asked, "So...what was that spell again?"

The girl was on her broom and answered, "You called it a stupid bird. So now it wants to eat you."

"W-_What?!_"

"It's a cockatrice, and it only exists in the forest of Arcturus. I hear its feathers are really toxic!" she answered, oddly infatuated towards the end. "And by the way," she adds in a yell, "don't let it breathe on you, okay?! Say the spell one more time so I can get one!"

"Y-YOU TRAPPED US IN HERE TO BE DECOYS?!" Akko shouted.

"Sacrifices!"

Akko grumbled sourly to herself before the cockatrice screeched. "Come on Lotte!" she yelped, scrambling with the rope-sphere. With both of their efforts, the ball rolled, and the suitcase and bags flailed.

It didn't stop them. They continued to clamber furiously, rolling the ball through the forest. The ground shook, and the ball jumped as the cockatrice stormed after them.

It screamed once again, announcing the witch-from-before's success in snagging a feather. With the cockatrice distracted, the girl dodging its fuming breaths, Akko noticed the trees turned to stone—inflicted by the monster's curse. _She could have told us!_ Akko internally raged.

Neither stopped racing across the forest, careening down a slope. It's not like they _could_ even if they wanted to (they did want to). Akko's thoughts ravaged, searching for any possible solution as Lotte tripped and was flattened against the surface of the ball.

"Are you okay?!" Akko quickly thought of it as a stupid question with Lotte's body plastered against the ball, stuck to roll with the tumbling luggage with them.

"I—am—fine—just—diz—zy—" Lotte admitted with every turn. "O—oh—my—y—go—od—" Lotte grunted, attempting to get up.

"It'd be best if you just stayed like that!"

"Bu—ut—the—sui—uit—ca—ase—es—"

"I-I'll find a way to stop! I swear!" Atsuko kept running, eyes wide for a solution. Instantly, she found a perfect line of bushes that'd cushion their fall.

As she charged forward, however, the strange feeling engulfed her chest again. It wasn't violent, but urgent. As she drew closer with Lotte still spinning, it became more demanding, tugging her to the side. Akko couldn't help herself. She slammed the ball towards the right—much to Lotte's displeasure—and steered it onwards.

Something was here.

Akko knew it.

It was calling for her.

There was a pile of rocks in the middle of a small clearing, something poking out in the middle. It snagged the rope-ball and threw them forward. Everything snapped and crackled. Akko and Lotte lunged forward, whacking into several branches that weren't enough to brace them for the long drop ahead. Without a thought, as Akko slammed into a thick tree branch, she snatched Lotte's arm tightly. Lotte gasped, her body dangling from Akko's strong grip, her eyes glued down the cliff.

Akko grunted as she pulled Lotte safely up, resting against the jutted earth beside the branches and roots of the old trees around them. "You are _really_ strong," Lotte wheezed. She looked green (as one would be after spiraling out-of-control for a solid few minutes).

"Thanks," Akko replied, rubbing her chest. The sensation was still there. Impatiently waiting. "Come on, let's go."

"Okay," Lotte said weakly. Atsuko knew she needed to throw something up. As the ginger shifted, she winced and clutched her knee. "Ow, ow..._ow_, my knee." Akko saw a disgustingly-colored wound coating Lotte's freckled skin. She whimpered. "I'm not going to be able to make it..."

"No! Come on!" Akko said, hoisting Lotte up. "We'll get out together! And it looks like it's just a bruise. As long as it doesn't swell, it probably means it's not as bad." Lotte nodded as they stumbled onto the grass. Once Atsuko was able to see the rocks and weird stick in the clearing, her eyes widened. "Hey, that's— That's the Shiny Rod!" she exclaimed.

"What?"

As quickly as they could manage, without hurting Lotte too much, they made their way towards the staff. The seven gems embedded within glinted and shone, almost winking at Akko. The sensation in her chest heightened, and Akko somehow knew that it would relax once she grabbed it.

She tore it from the rocks with a wide smile. "Do you know what this means?!"

"What...?"

Akko brandished it to the sky. "This means it _is_ destiny! I will become a witch just like Shiny Chariot! And— Wait, why is the Shiny Rod here though?"

"I don't know. Maybe we should get—" Something darted across the sky quickly. "Huh?"

They turned around as the witch-from-before hovered behind them and set foot on the ground. "So...you're not dead then."

"Yeah! No thanks to you!" Akko retorted. There was a terrifying screech, and she blitzed around. "It's still trying to chase us?!" she asked as the rooster head popped out from above the trees. The witch-from-before shrugged, holding a feather. "Oh...it is..." Akko shook herself and snapped, "Lotte, you go with her!"

"But—"

"Just go! Don't worry about me!" Akko said. Before either could interject, she bolted forward, her legs carrying her through the trees. It reminded her of the races she won during her school championships. They didn't mean anything then. Just another medal to hang on her wall.

But now, her speed and acceleration were _everything_. The cockatrice stormed behind her, snapping and hissing and breathing wildly. Either that witch pulled a rather sensitive feather, or the cockatrice was still mad at being called stupid. Akko jerked around a few trees, slowing the cockatrice down by a few steps. Though it wasn't enough.

"Hey! Up here!"

Atsuko looked up. There, the witch-from-before and Lotte rode on a broom, faster than she could run. Not by a lot, but maybe _t__hat_ would be enough. As they lowered the broom and Lotte reached out her hand, Akko hurled herself up. The broom teetered to the right before straightening itself; as expected, flew much slower than before. "T-Thanks, err...?"

"No problem," the witch-from-before said. "Oh, and it's Sucy. Sucy Manbavaran."

"Nice to finally meet you Sucy."

Sucy chortled, though her devilish grin was wiped clean off at the angry cluck behind them. Anxiously, the girls stared over their shoulders.

It was _flying_.

"That thing won't just quit, will it?" Lotte asked, voice pierced.

It blew streaking flames throughout the air, reaching the end of the broom. "Ow!" Akko snapped, patting the small flame off her butt. "It breathes fire too?!"

"We're not going to get far, will we?!"

"No!" Akko hissed. "We will! I'll make sure of it!" The Shiny Rod twinkled in her hands, and she blinked. As she stared at the first gem, the sensation was back, now crawling along her entire form. It was almost, wordlessly, telling her—no, _whispering_—something of importance.

"Akko! You better do something quickly or the broom will fry!" Sucy snapped.

"Yeah, Akko! I can't think of anything!" Lotte yelled, worried.

Atsuko paid no mind. Instead, she listened to the sensation carefully, holding the Shiny Rod to her chest. She closed her eyes, succumbing to her trance. "Noctu orfie aude..." Her eyes flew open and she yelled, "Fraetore!"

The Shiny Rod sang to life as the ruptured broom suffered another wave of fire, chaotically souring over another sloped area. "Akko!" the witches screamed. The broom disintegrated at their fingertips.

But there was nothing to worry about, not as the Shiny Rod transformed in Akko's hands to a powerful bow. An arrow gradually appeared in her hand, and Akko pulled back to shoot it downwards.

Sucy and Lotte braced for impact, dreading the bouts of pain to come. And yet... nothing.

They opened their eyes as the cockatrice's fuming calls died away, enraptured by the vibrant colors of energy swarming around them. Akko giggled as they continued racing down the ley-line, and the two witches at her side gazed at her in awe.

With a shared look, Sucy and Lotte confirmed that Akko was certainly _not_ an ordinary witch. Let alone an ordinary girl.

**— — — — — — — — — —**

Everything was uniform in the ceremony hall, with its students wearing their long dresses and hats, adorned with their team bands. Nothing was out of place. Even Professor Ursula, who had come in discreetly, sat in her designated seat.

Diana remained poised and collected, eagerly listening to Headmistress Holbrook as she continued with her introductory speech: "And well, now that's been said, let's go ahead and get start—"

_BANG!_

Everyone—including the elegant Diana—lurched in their seats. The auditorium shook whilst an unnatural smoke curdled towards the ceiling. Uniformity, unsurprisingly, had been quickly thrown out the window. Diana froze as other witches gasped around her, eyes narrowed at the light of a—

_Is that...a ley-line?_ she thought, watching the smoke.

Her suspicion was confirmed once three witches fell out of the smoke and tumbled onto the floor. The whole room was deathly silent. As two witches clambered to their feet, the one other one was able to hop up, in her hands something like a short staff.

The third witch looked around the room, her grin widening. From where she sat, Diana assumed it was the first-generation witch. She frowned. No dress or sash, just a shirt and shorts that were too improper. At the very least, her smile was not repulsive, nor her eyes glinting with excitement. Her elation was so contagious, it even stretched up to Diana's seat. She was amused by the awe that was etched on the girl's face.

"I MADE IT!" she suddenly yelled with glee, raising her arms victoriously. Diana clenched her jaw. She was loud though. Would she be like that all the time? Diana could only wonder. Her opinion on her smile and eyes were subsequently tossed to the side. "I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! YES!"

Diana grimaced. _God. She cannot be serious. Is she? _She remained silent even with her disapproving thoughts, while the others around her instead whispered accusingly. Headmistress Holbrooke continued to stare from the podium, apparently still dumbfounded.

Diana could only hope that this _nonsense_ wouldn't actually be enrolled in her class. _Is this really the new first-generation student? _she thought, finding herself sorely disappointed.

**— — — — — — — — — —**

"And you better wish that your behavior here on out will not get you expelled. Headmistress was quite gracious with you for your floundering act, even despite your lack of uniform," a strict woman—Professor Anne Finnelan—lectured as she quidded Atsuko down the hall. "And it's already hard enough that you are a first-generation witch. You better have a proper studious attitude and wicked skill to offset this, do you understand?"

The woman halted and turned at her heel, to which Akko stumbled to a halt. She nodded politely, nearly bowing before she remembered this wasn't Japan. She was far, far from home.

"Yes ma'am."

Professor Finnelan _humph_-ed and asked, her voice dropping to a curt tone, "Speaking of, where are you from? Your name is certainly not English, let alone European."

"I-It's Japanese... I'm from a small town off of Akita," Akko clarified in a soft voice.

The witch nodded. "For your information, Miss Kagari, I don't believe we've had a student that's been from Japan. You are representing your country here with everything you do, do you understand?"

"Yes ma'am."

The professor then opened the door to a bland dorm, though not unoccupied; a pair of confused students sat at the long desk reaching across the wall, overlooked by the window. Akko was glad to see they were Lotte and Sucy—who sported an awkward and minute smile respectively.

"You will make up a third of the red team, Miss Kagari. And there have been instructions to keep you three under tight supervision throughout these three years, got it?"

"Yes ma'am," Atsuko said. "And...uh..." Because she _had_ to try and mend something. "And thanks for showing me my room." Anne remained quiet for a moment, then huffed and shut the door behind her. Akko stood at the doorway, awkwardly. "Hey, sorry about the...supervision on you two."

"No worries," Lotte said with another small smile, "I already have the top bunk."

"And I have my own bed," Sucy added, with a grin of her own.

Atsuko chuckled and slowly fell onto her already-decided bed. She may be far, far from home, though perhaps it won't be _so_ bad.

_...right?_

* * *

_Hope you enjoyed!_

_:)_


	2. Pt I - Disappointed Witches

_Hope you enjoy!_

_:)_

* * *

**~ Blood of Magic ~**

**|Part 1|  
DISSAPOINTED WITCHES  
[Ep. #2]**

* * *

TThe wind raced through her hair, clipping her cheeks as she yelled the incantation. The arrow sliced through the air, birthing another ley-line. The colors. Oh, the colors Akko saw. They welcomed her. _You're a witch! You're a witch!_ they seemed to have chanted.

And the light-show did come to an end, however, plopping her with Lotte and Sucy in the middle of the auditorium. It was not consumed with infatuating streams of brilliant lights, but Akko beamed anyhow. She actually made it. She was at Luna Nova!

Looking at the bottom of Lotte's bunk, sure, but she did it!

Akko sat up, stretching out the aches of yesterday's shenanigans. Once her eyes were properly rubbed, she looked around. Sucy was already up, scheming away at her desk with potions and lab equipment laid out. _Lotte must still be asleep_, she internally figured. She ran a hand through her hair. _That needs brushing._

"That's right!" Akko quickly hopped out of bed and reached underneath her mattress, shuffling around. "Ah hah, got it!" She pulled out the Shiny Rod in all its glory. The jewels nestled within the blood-red craters glinted. The crown that it dawned gleamed. The long creamy-colored staff was pleasant to the eyes. "It wasn't a dream! I actually have the Shiny Rod!" Akko's eyes went wide. "I actually used the Shiny Arc!"

Groggily, Lotte sat up in her bed and looked down. "Morning Lotte! See what I have?"

As she situated her glasses on her nose, Lotte replied, "That's the Shiny Rod, right?"

"Yup!" Akko squealed, promptly spooking the poor girl.

"Like you haven't told us a hundred times," Sucy murmured.

Akko didn't pay any attention to her grumbling. "And this belongs to," she said, excitedly, "Shiny Chariot! And when I meet her, I'm going to have to give it back. I don't know why it was in the forest like that. It doesn't seem like the place for Shiny Chariot." She smiled. "But when I hold this, I feel like I can do anything!" Akko stated, brandishing upright. With a quirk of a smile, she pointed the Shiny Rod to the mattress. "Fly bed!" Nothing. "Come on, fly!"

She scowled. Maybe it was too big. "Fly shoes!"

As Akko continued to whip the wand about, Lotte watched their other teammate curiously. "What are you doing, Sucy?"

"Move Alcor! _Dammit. _Come on, I command you to move!"

"I'm trying to extract the poison from these feathers," Sucy answered.

"Move! Move, move, _move!_"

"Did you only come here to add the poison to your collection?"

"Hey pillow!"

Sucy shook her head, observing the spider erratically running circles in her beaker."My original plan was to leave after, but I heard that Luna Nova has rare species of mushrooms. So I'll be staying longer." She put an oxygen mask over her face as she squeezed a spritz of poison with a dropper into the beaker. The spider seized and tossed itself against the glass before solidifying into a hard crystal.

Sucy chuckled.

Lotte winced.

"Fly! Move! Do _something!_" Akko commanded. She frowned and quit her antics. "I don't get it. What am I doing wrong? It was working yesterday."

Lotte stepped down from her bunk. "Come on and get dressed. We'll be late to class at this rate."

Akko's disappointment quickly left her. A grin stretched wide. "Alright!" She hurriedly began to change, brushing her hair out and putting it up, then shuffled through her small drawer. Lotte chuckled to herself at Akko's excitement; it really was an admirable trait that Lotte assumed she'd grow accustomed to.

Once Akko finished her outfit with her hat, clad with a red ribbon, she said, "I'm all ready!"

"Well, no. That uniform's for ceremonies and training. This one—" she gestured towards her uniform: navy blue skirt with a red, thinly clothed scarf, a buttoned vest in the same color, black cross-tie, white buttoned shirt and long white socks accompanied by simple, brown dress shoes—"is for classes."

Akko looked at her stylish, witchy dress and hat. "But that one's so boring." Lotte shrugged.

As Akko began to change (once again), Lotte said as she gathered her books, "Our classes are magic linguistics, magic pharmaceutics then magic numerology... Oh! _And_ magic history before lunch, I forgot our periods changed."

Sucy finished her uniform by tightening her tie. "Oh is that all?"

"And afterwards we have two more classes: astrology and then there's periods for labs or physicals. When the schedule is normal, they switch between labs and physicals. Astrology starts tomorrow, and we switch every other day with our morning classes, so we should only have one class tomorrow and Thursday," Lotte explained. "The first week is nice like that. Oh, and then we'll need to pick our electives that'll start next month."

Akko, who was quickly fastening her buttons, said, "That sounds like a lot... And each of the breaks are only a couple of weeks, right...? Summer's like, what, two-and-a-half?"

Lotte nodded. "Yeah... Luna Nova is quite demanding—"

"Ah _shit_, really?" Sucy grumbled. "I only came here for research."

"Well, it's not as bad as it sounds. Winter Break for Christmas is half a week, and then Spring Break is two, so it kind of makes up for it... Um, there's an extended weekend for Samhain, and Summer's what Akko said. _But_ our schedule is only from Monday to Wednesdays for lessons, and Thursdays are usually reserved for the rest of the labs for the week, which is a couple of periods if you planned your schedule properly." Lotte grinned assuringly. "So, it's not that bad, see? Luna Nova's just designed to have the students here almost year-round, but we have almost a longer weekend than school."

"I guess... Looks like you'll be helping me and Akko around," she said. Once glancing at Akko, Sucy's visible eye widened. "Hey, isn't that a little short?"

Akko looked at her, confused. "What, my skirt?"

"Yeah...Akko, did you get the wrong length?" Lotte asked.

"No...? It's the same length that I had for my school in Japan."

Sucy chuckled to herself as Lotte said, "Well, it looks like it's five centimeters shorter than what's allowed. You can go longer though, like Sucy and me."

"Was your school a ho-school?" Sucy snorted, _her_ skirt going past her knees.

Akko put her hands on her hips. "_No_, it was actually really conservative."

"_Oh_, is that right?"

"Yes! What's the problem with my legs?!"

Lotte, who was humored by the banter, answered, "Well, your skirt is revealing. Your legs are nice but not appropriate. I thought Japan was a bit more conservative with clothes."

Then it hit Akko. "Oh yeah, we are, but not really with legs." She chuckled to herself and said, "I forgot that Europeans fetishize _legs_."

"W-_What?_" Lotte blubbered.

"I'm just saying. You'd have to catch me dead if you saw my shoulders," Akko said.

Sucy sighed and clutched her books to her chest. "Come on, let's start heading to class." Both Akko and Lotte obliged, following Sucy out the door. They strode down the halls, walking to their first class. Somehow, along the way, Akko appeared to lead—and it bothered neither following her. Lotte took note of her confident stride, a bounce with each step. Sucy noticed her cheeky grin that made her want to gag, but people liked that more than nothing right? (She really didn't know.)

Atsuko analyzed her uniform, lips pursed. "Such a plain uniform," she sighed as a ruckus crashed behind her, a humiliated professor underneath a heap of books. "But I guess it will do. The sash for the wand really adds something to it, don't you think?"

Lotte nodded, her eyes drifting towards Akko's skirt. "That might be more than five centimeters too short now that I think about it..."

Akko pouted. "Quit going on about my skirt, would ya?"

**— — — — — — — — — —**

Classes, to say the least, did not come to par with Akko's imagination. Instead of fun, there were lectures. She thought she _escaped_ that.

There was Professor Anne Finnelan's class: Magic Linguistics. From what she could tell (and concluded the night before), Anne was strict and strung-up, with her uniform pressed cleanly and shoes polished. She doubted that the professor would even let a single thing of dust on her sleeve, let alone teach a relaxed class.

Which was confusing. Akko, like many of the students she assumed, had experience learning new languages. But she had forgotten how written lines could look so forgein and muddled if not in a tongue she knew. Akko could only stare at the board, speechless.

"These Lunar runes are the ancient character system used by witches long ago." Akko _did_ make an effort to fill her notes, though her brain short-circuited. "The are a type of segmental script."

_Segmental...wut?_

Anne flicked her wand, and garbled letters spread themselves across the board behind her. "Is there anyone in the class who can read the letters on the board?"

_Good. I'm not the only one. _A hand raised in front of her. _Okay...what now?_

"Proceed, Miss Cavendish."

Akko blinked. The hand lowered before the girl in front of her stood, posture straight and proper. "'Bless the one who lets the stone remain untouched. Wo betide the one who moves it," she translated with ease.

Professor Finnelan smiled. She complimented over the wave of awed whispers, "That is most impressive, Miss Cavendish. In all my years of teaching, you're the first student to decipher this—_exactly_, may I add."

_Oohh... So that's what that says. Still. What the fuck does that mean in english?!_

The girl sat down quietly, and the raven-haired girl from the ley-line terminal gushed, "Way to go Diana! I didn't know you could do that!" Akko was still stunned, paralyzed by how un-fun lesson this was.

At least Sucy agreed with a yawn.

Magic Pharmaceutics wasn't much better, even if it was a tad bit more entertaining. And easier to take notes on. "With each stir of the cauldron, the color begins to change," explained Professor Lukić with a deepening smirk. She was the classic witch, something that somewhat shocked Akko; she thought that witches only looked like her professor on the television. "Next, add a live frog to the concoction—" Atsuko grimaced as a poor frog was thrown in the boiling cauldron— "and the frog must be added when the water is still cold to achieve the proper _effect._"

Akko tensed as a strange fog began to fill the room, scratching out part of her notes. _Not boiling. We do not boil before adding frog, _she wrote. _Do we boil?_

She gagged once the fog reached her table, smelling flesh and slime. "Add intestine of newt, ground claw of bat, introduce these ingredients little by little, _then_... Do you smell that pleasant aroma its giving off?" Lukić chuckled. Akko certainly caught a whiff of _something_. To her side, Lotte tried her best to avoid inhaling the fog whilst Sucy took a deep breath and smiled.

And Magic Numerology? Akko wasn't awake for that.

Out of the three, Lotte was the only one jotting down notes, casting curious glances as Sucy mixed together ingredients with a mortar and pestle that she managed to sneak in. At the sound of Professor Badcock's growing volume, she continued to write down everything word-for-word: "As discussed in previous lessons, Pagatheros is supposed to be the one who created the basic system of magic and fortune telling... Now," she continued, flipping the page, "let us reference page 923 at line 102..."

Lotte yawned; Akko's mood apparently contagious.

"Using numerology, you can depict the universe on a scale from one to five—"

"Professor Badcock?"

Lotte glanced at Diana, pausing in her notes, waiting; she was used to the professor and Diana's exchange. "Huh?" The professor looked up from behind the thick, monstrous book.

Diana stood up in the same fashion as the few classes before. "I believe it's actually from one to four, not from one to five."

"Oh no!" She corrected her glasses and nodded. "How can I make that mistake? Yes, you are correct, Diana. It is from one to four."

Lotte wrote the rest of the information down in her notes as Diana sat back down; she caught Hannah and Barbara's gushing comments: "You're even smarter than Badcock!" they giggled. To her side, Sucy snickered and raised her solution, dropping some on Akko's hair tied back. The lock of hair morphed into green, sprouting into a small baby-plant. Lotte sighed and went back to her notes.

The History of Magic was not all that different with Akko falling asleep once again, though this time her first impression was met with an eyebrow-raise from the professor. Sucy giggled to the side.

It wasn't until the middle of class when the professor jutted her wand towards Akko, sending a small green spirit to grab her by the plant and slam her head down on the desk with a dull _thud! _She then proceeded to ask for Diana—once again proving her excellency as a student—to answer a question Akko had failed to hear (being stuck in her dream of what classes _should_ be at Luna Nova, and all): "T. S. Daniels, Wizardry Mnemonics."

"Very good, Miss Cavendish." She turned to Akko with Lotte sitting worriedly beside her. "Did you catch that Miss Kagari?!"

Atsuko peeled herself from the desk, eyes watered. She was thankful her nose was flatter than that old crone-of-a-witch with her damn spirit.

"Y-Yes," she answered weakly.

**— — — — — — — — — —**

"I'm sorry I fell asleep! Those classes are so _boring!_ Who care about old grimy witches anyway?!"

Her table was quiet as they listened to Akko's rant. It wouldn't've been considered eaves-dropping since she was so. Damn._ Loud_. "Wow, she really is a lost cause, isn't she?" Hannah chortled.

"Well..." they heard Lotte respond, "I think the history of magic is actually quite interesting."

"Yeah. What a loser," Barbara added.

Diana remained silent, sipping on the last of her water. She nearly jumped in her seat as Akko yelped. "Sucy! What did you do to my nose?!"

Curious, she looked over her shoulder and found the source of Barbara and Hannah's abrupt laughter: Akko's nose was now long to an exaggerative point, which did not help the stem and pedals that grew from the hair she had tied back. "It's fine," Diana heard Sucy assure, "it'll go back to normal in an hour...maybe."

"_Maybe?!_ You mean I was your guinea pig?!" While Diana didn't appreciate the commotion during her lunch, she could sympathize: That nose was going to cause trouble sticking out as long as it did.

She got to her feet, if only to avoid the noise, and said, "I'm going to get more water."

When Diana strode by Akko's table, she heard: "I can't imagine how Shiny Chariot could deal with all this! Everything is so boring and just... _Ugh_."

_Shiny...Chariot? _Now that was a name Diana had almost forgotten. She hesitated. A childhood's curiosity itched her.

Diana had to step in: "Shiny Chariot is frowned upon at Luna Nova. She's a disappointment." Akko turned around, surprised, with mashed potatoes in her mouth. She might as well make her introduction now. "Miss Kagari, isn't that right? You're new here aren't you?"

"Call me—" Akko worked through her food before swallowing. "Just call me Akko. You're the one who translated that sentence in class, right?"

"My name is Diana Cavendish," she replied quietly, brushing away the recognition.

She heard steps behind her. "You really don't know who she is? Have you just been living under a rock or something?" Hannah asked, arms crossed.

"She's the best up-and-coming witch to ever come to Luna Nova. You're kidding, right?" Barbara added.

Diana waved a hand as Akko watched her, impressed. Maybe too easily impressed. She hoped that Akko wouldn't grovel at her feet... "In any case, I'll impart some friendly advice to you: Nobody here respects Shiny Chariot so stop thinking of her as a role model. She's a has-been."

Akko's impressed gaze blinked away as she stared at Diana, crossly. So she wouldn't grovel for Diana; that was certainly a change. "That's not true at all!" she hissed. "Shiny Chariot has fans all over the world! Her show was super popular!"

"I'll admit, she gave quite the show," Diana replied. "But it was just that. A show filled with cheap parlor tricks and illusions. It faded away just like any fad, and Shiny Chariot has been gone for ten years. And it doesn't seem like anybody cares of whatever she's doing now." She turned to walk away when Akko got to her feet.

"I care! Shiny Chariot showed me what I wanted to be! And I have to find her to give her back the Shiny Rod!"

Diana halted. She turned around, brow arched. Atsuko was dead serious. And determined. A powerful mix of emotions, Diana knew. "The Shiny Rod, huh? Really now?"

"Yes, _really_. I can show you."

"So be it," Diana said. She stood straight and folded her arms. "Show me."

Akko blinked and scratched the back of her neck. She looked nervous, and Diana took the time to study her. Her jaw tightened once she noticed her revealing length of skirt, and the hair-plant that sprouted another leaf, and her awkward smile fashioned with a dimple. "Well..." Akko mumbled, bringing Diana's gaze back to her eyes, "I have to go get it first."

"Fair," Diana murmured. "Then I will wait for you in the courtyard. You better not be lying Mis—" She caught herself. There wasn't any reason to be rude, even if she didn't _mean_ it. "Akko." She left the table and strode towards the water station at the end of the cafeteria. Hannah and Barbara tittered behind her as she got a glass. Ignoring their comments, Diana watched Akko briskly walk through the double doors, adamant.

"So Diana? What do you think about the new girl, huh?" Hannah asked.

"Pretty stupid, isn't she?" Barbara giggled.

Diana pursed her lips and set the cup down on a used-dishes tray. "If she has the bite behind her bark, then I'd say otherwise. But she needs help getting that damn pedal off her head."

The two witches chortled. "I wonder if she did that to herself."

"Yeah. Or if she even knows it's there."

"Let's go, ladies," Diana sighed, "I told her to meet at the courtyard, and_ I'm_ not going to back down from my word."

"And what if _she_ does?"

"Well, then I would say she has no right being at this school, if that were the case."

They followed Diana out to the courtyard along with a few other witches. They gathered around near a tall statue situated in the middle of the green space, waiting. Several minutes of murmurs and gossip went by before Akko walked straight to Diana, a medium staff at hand.

Wordlessly, she held it out with both hands for Diana to analyze. Diana obliged, studying the Shiny Rod meticulously. Unbeknownst to Akko—or anybody, for the matter—Diana was impressed. Her heart began to race. The small pores Diana noticed by the worn edges, it was indeed bone. And the craters were the precious stones lay, that coloration was unique to one thing: blood.

Akko did not lie. She was _indeed_ brandishing the Shiny Rod. The Claiomh Solais.

Despite her recognition, Diana cleared her throat and stepped away. She eyed Akko curiously. There was a possibility that Atsuko had a bite behind her bark. So she prodded: "An obvious imitation."

"No! This is the real deal!" Akko protested.

"Oh, did you bring that toy for show-and-tell?" Barbara asked.

"Did you spend your allowance on it?" chortled Hannah.

Akko huffed. "Fine. If you don't believe me, I'll prove it to you!" She stomped towards the statue, the four witches standing in robes, back-to-back, eyes closed. "Please...work like before. Do a miracle," Atsuko whispered. Everybody looked on, expectant. Diana crossed her arms, intrigued. Confidently, she pointed at the statue with a grand gesture. "Move stone statue!"

And...

Nothing.

Akko blinked. "I said _move!_" Another wave of the wand to no avail. "Come on, please stone statue? Please? I'm begging..." The plant on her head twitched, one the of newer leaves that had grown in the past hour falling miserably. Giggles started to surface by this point. "I don't get it. Why isn't it working?" she mumbled, shoulders slumped.

Diana sighed as Lotte whispered, "Poor Akko..."

Deciding the time was up for weak attempts at magic, Diana whipped out her wand. "Ansolew airo!"

The statues suddenly shivered with a terrifying energy, leaving Akko sprawled on her back from the force, crawling away from it. Gasps rang around the courtyard as one of the statues reached forward, stripping the annoying cluster of leaves from Akko's head; it freed her hair from that ridiculous spell. And with a blink of an eye, the statues were back to their rightful place. Diana pocketed her wand as the witches around her whispered excitedly.

"I didn't know you could do that Diana!" Barbara gasped. "That was an advanced spell that brings statues to life!" she said in awe, putting her hands together.

"Diana, you're miraculous!" Hannah added.

Diana waved their comments aside politely and stepped forward once to Akko. "_Real_ magic is cultivated by tradition and countless hours of intensive study. It is not something you can just _pick up_ because of a fad." She frowned. "If you hope to stay here, you will have to do more than just pander to your little childhood dreams."

"The Cavendish family is renowned for their rich history in magic," Barbara explained.

Hannah nodded, hissing, "Diana's much better than some dumb show magician."

Done with the confrontation, Diana turned around and walked away, leaving Hannah and Barbara to blubber. They called after her and jogged to her side eagerly. After all, it meant a lot if you stood with a Cavendish, not left behind.

It also meant a lot to stand _against_ one as well.

_If only she wasn't a fool, _Diana thought to herself, sorely disappointed.

To Akko's credit, though, Diana didn't see the finger she was given.

**— — — — — — — — — —**

As they sat on the grass, Akko laying out all of her Shiny Chariot cards, she mumbled, "Diana's skirt is short, and nobody talks about that..."

"Hers is the shortest you can make it," Lotte said. "And she has socks that go up to her knee."

"Yeah." Sucy added, "You're just a slut."

Akko glowered. With the final Shiny Chariot card laid flat, she exhaled gloomily and bent her knees. Akko wrapped her arms around them, staring at the cards. "So it's been ten years since she left, huh?" She closed her eyes and sunk into herself. "I wonder what she's been doing and where's she gone."

"It doesn't even seem like anybody knows where to start looking for her," Lotte murmured. As Atsuko continued to gaze into the ground, Lotte asked, "Hey, Akko? Was it hard to find all those cards?"

She was glad that her question immediately brought Akko out of her shell.

"Yeah... They were hard to come by when I was a kid. Back then, she was really popular."

Akko grinned softly, and Lotte saw a brief glimpse of maturity in her; before now, from what she could tell, Akko was all soft and goofy, though her reminiscent gaze brought insight to the woman she would grow into someday. It reminded Lotte that she was her own age—give or take a few months; maybe she was naive with magic, but that exposed only one side of Akko.

"I would sleep with my card binder. Not even a stuffed animal." She pointed towards one with a picture and description of a Papiliodia. Lotte noticed it was the only one printed in english. "I remember going to England for that one," she said. "It wasn't for a show or anything. My uncle said it would be good to visit so I could practice the native language here, and my mom took me to a shop." Akko giggled. "She didn't know a speck of english, and my uncle was trying to get a cab—it was really busy that day."

"That sounds nice," said Lotte.

"Just imagine some thirty-year-old woman who doesn't talk and this kid with broken english trying to pay for something," Akko laughed. "'Can I have card? I got money also,'" she imitated with a thick, Japanese accent.

"It sounds entertaining," Sucy commented.

Akko nodded. Her smile fell back to her nostalgic grin. She laid her hand on the grass where a space of a card was, in the middle of her collection. "I could never get my hands on this one premium card... I have all the rest, and if I didn't trade the extras, I'd probably have ten times this. But that one... Didn't get to even see it."

Sucy picked up a card with a mushroom on it. "A unicorn..." Lotte read—or at least _saw_ as the rest was in Japanese.

"'An eternal holy creature, the protector of happiness," Akko translated.

"You memorized it?" Lotte asked.

Akko shrugged. "All of them. I suck at some of the pronunciation though, like the papiliodia. 'A butterfly that can fly long distances. It hatches once every century, and it's said to give hope for anyone who gazes upon it.'" She chuckled. "I hope I get to so I know how to get the wording for the spell right." Excitement then gleamed in her eyes. "Hey! Why don't we play a game with the cards!"

"Like a card game...? With these?" Lotte glanced at them. "Which one is supposed to be the ace?"

"No, silly! You can play them like Pokémon, but even better!"

Sucy blinked. "Poké— What now?"

"Pokémon..." Akko ogled at the two of them. They stared back, completely lost. "Are you kidding me? You don't know what Pokémon is?!"

**— — — — — — — — — —**

The trunk was muted from its former rich brown, and the leaves were drained of color. Even the grass surrounding the vast tree was leeched of vibrancy.

Holbrook, Ursula and Finnelan all stood around the Jennifer Memorial Tree at the center of the botanical gardens. Ursula was looking over her notes, while Anne tapped her foot impatiently. "Well? Do you have any idea as to what caused this?" she asked, gesturing towards the tree. The poor thing was brittle and pale.

"Well, it appears that whatever _is_ at fault, if it is eradicated, then the tree's symptoms is temporary."

Miranda Holbrook sighed. "I do hope so. I would hate for it to go out like this. Do you have anymore information?"

"I have an idea of where to look," Ursula admitted, "but not a clear indication."

"Report immediately once you do," Anne said.

"I-I will. I just need a few more—"

They glanced at the incoming party, Diana flanked by her friends. "I heard about the Memorial Tree. I can't believe it has gotten this weak," said Diana, concerned.

Miranda nodded, and said softly, "Yes, it's quite sad. But, we can't ignore that this tree is very old. It's possible it could be at the end of its time dear."

"I see..." The women walked off, leaving the students to stare on at the ill tree. Diana observed it and murmured, "It's said that this tree inherited the will of the great witch Jennifer. It's sacred to Luna Nova." She pursed her lips in thought. "I don't think it's at its end yet. These trees are supposed to grow for thousands of years, especially with strong ties to witches like Jennifer." Diana turned to Hannah and Barbara. "Do you have the rocks?"

Barbara nodded as Hannah answered, "Yes. What kind of magic will you be doing exactly?"

"Revitalization magic... This trick has been passed down my family for generations," Diana replied. "There has to be an outer ring, then a ring within the roots. Hannah, you take that third and you take that third, Barbara."

Immediately, they set to work, concentrating on the spacing between the rocks and curve within the branches. With each placement, they felt the turquoise stones hum against their palms, reassuring.

Once Barbara and Hannah announced that they were finished, they flanked Diana and waited. The Cavendish held her wand out, then said, voice proud, "Louperial Ral!" A ring of light was traced into the air; the rocks illuminated with great force. The tree seemed to have inhaled deeply, the branches rose with leaves blossoming, and the bark grew stronger in both texture and color.

They smiled, congratulating Diana: "You did it!"

"You're such a good witch!"

Diana eased a polite smile, glad to see the tree far healthier than before. "It seems that the nutrients I gave it have been soaked into the tree."

"I'm going to tell the Holbrook!" Barbara exclaimed joyfully, racing off with Hannah to announce the exciting news. Diana allowed her small grin to linger.

Up until the ground rumbled from beneath her feet.

She frowned, watching cracks take shape within the grass. "What—?!" Roots groaned as they peeled themselves from the earth, crackling angrily. "What!?" Diana stammered, "W-What happened?! I did it right, what did I miss?!" She jumped as the roots tore through the brick path circling the grass patch and tree easily. Her eyes widened as she saw Akko charge forward, followed by an equally bewildered Lotte and Sucy. "Get out of here!" Diana urged.

Akko staggered back as the tree jerked right at her feet as a warning. She ignored it. "What happened?! Do you know, Diana?!" Once the tree appeared to be done with its writhing from the ground, she stepped over the roots, eyes narrowed at the strange bulbous packs—not unlike sea urchins—leeching off of the roots. "What are these things?"

Diana studied them as Sucy said, "They look like pupae to me."

Akko quickly turned around. "Are you sure?"

"Parasites..." Diana whispered. "That's what made the tree so sick, and I just gave them all the nutrients with my spell!" Determined, she whipped out her wand. "They need to be gone!" She pointed at one of the parasites. "Murowa!" It crackled, the yellow, glowing color draining to a deep, saddening purple. "Murowa!" Three more grew limp, their spikes slacked.

Once one hissed beside Akko, she frowned and leaned closer. "Wait a minute...hold on." Her eyes widened. "Diana! Wait a second!" She hurled herself towards Diana's target, arms stretched.

"Wha— _Akko_, get out of the way!" Diana hissed.

"Hold _on_, they might not be so bad after all!" Akko argued.

Stubbornly, Diana's eyes darted to her right, and she snapped, "Murowa!" With speed, Akko jumped forward, blocking the spell with her body. She grunted, feeling very fried, and collapsed onto the ground. Diana nearly dropped her wand with a gasp. _How did she move so quickly?! _"I... I-I—"

"Akko!" Lotte cried, immediately by her side with Sucy.

Diana trudged across the roots, then bent to one knee. "I-I didn't mean to..."

Sucy murmured, "She was hit pretty hard with that spell. She doesn't look too good."

Akko grunted, her eyes sunken with grey rings, her skin paper-white. She put a hand on Lotte's shoulder and mumbled, "Papiliodia..." Akko blinked her groggy eyes open.

"What?"

She sat up and shuffled around in her pockets, then noticed her cards lying in front of her, scattered. Akko picked one up, brushing off the dirt. She held it up, more so towards Diana. "The papiliodia... I think those are its pupae."

"Papiliodia," Diana repeated as Akko got to her feet.

"See? They're not bad. They're just getting to be a bit much for the tree," Akko said quietly.

"Hey." Lotte stood up with an idea. "Why don't you use the spell on the card?"

"The papiliodia one?"

Lotte nodded.

Abruptly, the Shiny Rod beside the cards began to glow with dramatic effect. Its light began to dazzle Diana, but she couldn't help but stare in wonder. Akko furrowed her brows and picked it up with the same confidence she had in the courtyard, handing the card to whoever was on her left—Diana. She blinked at the card as Akko prepared herself. However, Akko paused, stumbling over the first word.

Diana read the card. "It's 'papillio fillio nymphodia,'" she said.

"That's how you say it?" Diana nodded once. "Thanks!" said Akko with a grin. "Come on, fly papiliodia! Your time is now! Papillio fillio nymphodia!" All at once the pupae were brought to life, vibrating as cracks splintered across their surfaces. Once torn away, glowing gold butterflies stretched freely, taking in their new world. Diana felt her heart flutter watching them, their shine brought her back to a time when she was but a little girl. Excited. Free. Naïve.

Hopeful.

It was an absolutely wonderful feeling.

Akko cheered, flapping her arms as they began to surge upwards, leaving through a hole in the dome left shattered for years. "Sucy! Can we borrow your broom! Let's fly with them!" Sucy watched her, brow arched. "Come on, _please? _When will we ever get the chance to again?!"

Sucy sighed. "Well, I guess I can give you that much after freeing them."

"Yes! Come on, Lotte!" Akko waved excitedly. Lotte grinned with the same enthusiasm, and even Sucy appeared to be enjoying herself (if her barely-arched grin was proof enough).

The trio left Diana to watch the papiliodia as the roots returned to the ground calmly. The tree never looked better. Even after Diana's spell. The thick bush of leaves on each of the branches, leaving only room for spots of evening sunlight to break through—that wasn't Diana's doing.

She tensed her jaw.

Maybe there was something more to Akko's magic after all. _Or was it the Claiomh Solais and nothing more?_

"My, my! The Memorial Tree is back to normal!" Diana turned to find Holbrook and Professor Finnelan come in, accompanied by Hannah and Barbara.

"Yeah, it was the spell Diana did!"

"It brought the tree back to life!"

Holbrook smiled. "Well, I have to thank you Diana for this!"

"Ah, but..." she started slowly, guilt irking her. Damn her name. This wasn't the time to be honored. "It wasn't me who—"

"Nonsense!" Anne said. "Who else could have done this?"

Diana gawped for a moment, then closed her mouth. "E-Excuse me, please." She walked away, eyes to the ground, as she heard them comment on her talent. _It's always the same. I'm always the prized student. _Her grip tightened as she stepped outside, meandering her way towards a bridge. _Even for something I didn't even do. _

She heard laughter in the sky and looked up. Akko beamed down at her, waving with Sucy guiding her broom and Lotte chuckling, holding on as tight as she could with Akko's excitement. Diana didn't know what to do. She almost raised her arm to wave back, only for the broom to turn away.

Diana sighed. Regardless of Akko's floundering abilities with magic, she was surely to lead an interesting few years. _That_, Diana was certain of.

**— — — — — — — — — —**

In her suite, Diana paced in an awkward pigeon-circle, which curled around her desk and bed. Across from her, there was a long bookshelf separating her space from Hannah and Barbara's chatter. Only one semester and a day had passed, and Diana's bookshelf was half-full with scrolls and aging books—anything she could get her hands on. And laid across her desk was her own journals, two already completed with research and observations scrawled across each and every page. Pages, which, were opened and scattered uniformly across her desk.

If only she knew _what_ to write, and what the hell was going on.

Diana rubbed her temple and paused at her desk, overlooking her diagram. Information jotted down from several of the scrolls were squeezed to the side, giving room for the intricate drawing of a medium staff, seven jewels running down its shaft.

She backed away, playing with her tie before loosening it. Diana rested her arms on the wall, folded, for her head to press against them. Striking blue eyes stared at the floorboards in thought. _The answer is right in front of me. It walked itself to Luna Nova..._ she pondered, the Shiny Rod burning in her mind. _But it's in _her_ hands. Why? What makes it so she has it and not anybody else? And Chariot's still alive, isn't she?! She would still have—_

There was a creak behind her, a very unique creak at that. It was one of the boards at the edge of her bookshelf which she unconsciously avoided; it reminded her of a whiny toad.

Diana turned around and found Barbara and Hannah hesitantly stepping beside her bed. It was odd to find them pass the separator, despite the suite being theirs just as much as Diana's. "Yes?" she asked calmly. Both were in their pajamas, and Diana wondered what time it was.

"Nothing much. We were just gonna ask if you're busy," Hannah answered as Barbara curiously strolled towards the desk.

"For what?"

"We were going to check out Avery's new broom. Nelson said that her other one was getting too old and light at the brush."

Diana nodded, then asked, "Isn't curfew soon?"

"Twenty minutes. We wouldn't be long. But you seem like you're busy thinking again..."

"Did you draw this?" Barbara turned towards Diana, pointing at the journal.

Before she could stop herself, she answered, "Yes."

Barbara arched a brow. "Isn't this what Akko had earlier today? Like the same thing Shiny Chariot used for her shows?"

Diana walked over and shook her head, waving a hand dismissively. "I don't know _what_ Akko had. As I said, a cruel imitation. Though I don't know, or care to know, what Chariot used." Barbara took a step back as Diana stood at the desk, quietly closing the journal with her thumb left in between the pages. "It's the Claiomh Solais. If Chariot did use this wand, she put its power to waste."

"Oh," Barbara hummed. "Don't tell me _you're_ a fan of Shiny Chariot too."

Diana answered shortly, "I'm not." With her free hand, she gestured towards the bookcase. "I'm compiling research for a way to help magic and this wand is an option, regardless of whether or not it's connected to Shiny Chariot."

"That makes sense, I guess," Hannah said. "Anyway, we'll be back. We're just going to Avery's room." Diana nodded as they strode away, the issue over her diagram already pushed to the back of their minds. She figured that neither one of them really paid mind to her studies; all that mattered was that she was Diana Cavendish, doing Cavendish things in a Diana way: _alone_.

The door was shut and Diana turned her hand over with her thumb still on the pages, right back to the diagram. She sat at her desk and sighed, then took out a feathered pen. She still didn't have any clue as to what was happening, though she could at _least_ write down her observations. That was what made good research, right?

_08 May 2018:_

_While I am far from completing my research on the Claiomh Solais, I have uncovered quite a lot today. I __don't understand any of it though. This wand is a key to the Grand Triskellion, which can change the_ _world for the better. Before today, I thought I was capable of wielding it for the sake of magic's survival._ _However, now I know I am not. Claiomh Solais chooses one person to open the Grand Triskellion, and_ _I can admit I was foolish enough to believe that after the wand was not with Chariot that I'd be able to find __it and therefore be the one to wield it._

_At least I know that death, unless Chariot is indeed dead, is not what breaks the bond between the __wielder and wand. But I also know that it chose Atsuko Kagari, and I cannot find any reason other than_ _her eagerness for magic. She's largely incapable, though I have witnessed her use the Claiomh Solais with_ _relative ease. It appears, however, that she can only use it at certain points, and I assume that's when she's_ _not being an absolute fool (which is most of the time). I still cannot deny her ability when she actually does_ _it, however._

_Even so, from what I saw, she could very well open the Grand Triskellion. And I can only hope to be there_ _when it happens because I still cannot fathom the possibility._

_I just want to know why. Despite the lack of true magic in Shiny Chariot's shows, Chariot du Noir was still_ _a talented witch before she vanished. If she did wield the Claiomh Solais, I would understand how, even __if she was not the strongest choice. She was an experienced witch as well. But Atsuko... She has no_ _experience and no true talent that I can see. Just an unruly passion for magic. I can only wonder and ask_ _how? Why?_

* * *

_Hope you enjoyed!_

_:)_


	3. Pt I - Flying Witches

_Hope you enjoy!_

_:)_

* * *

**~ Blood of Magic ~**

**|Part 1|  
FLYING WITCHES  
[Ep. #3]**

* * *

EEverything was magic.

Animals soared through the sky in a blaze of colors. The stars winked and kissed the night sky. The seated crowd roared with excitement, getting to their feet as a witch in white flew overhead. The moon shone brightly. Whole. Unscarred. Untouched.

_She_ was magic. Shiny Chariot.

Her words fluttered along Atsuko Kagari's tongue as the child jumped in her seat, following the motions of dazzling light and displays of fireworks. Her eyes were wide as Shiny Chariot waved her witches hat with a playful smile.

_"Believing in yourself is your magic!"_

Those words forever enchanted Akko. They raised her from her deep sleep in her dorm, early in the morning. Her eyes rested on the bottom of Lotte's bunk before scrambling around, reaching her arm underneath her mattress.

The Shiny Rod was pulled out, flopping against the bed with Akko's—hushed—giggles of delight. She held the wand to her chest, whispering, passionately, "Believing in myself is my magic..."

**— — — — — — — — — —**

As a few weeks flew by, Akko found herself doing much better at paying attention in her classes (i.e. less sleeping). In fact, by this point, she'd figured that she had a good handle on the schedule. Most of the time, she found it monotonous. Textbook this. Getting called on (and getting the answer wrong) that. Diana gets the right answer instead. Yada, yada. Turns out Luna Nova, despite it being a _witch_ school, was just like the last one.

Learning in a dumb old classroom with thick books was stupid.

At least until physicals was put on her schedule.

The students in her class were clustered in a large, open room with their professor standing up front beside a chalk-board. Akko was excited beyond belief, her wooden staff tight in her hands as she read the diagrams scrawled across the board. The clothes were unfortunate, however; instead of the cute dress (which Akko _really_ wanted to fit back into), they wore navy-blue shorts and a simple grey shirt. There wasn't even a ribbon or sash to distinguish their team colors!

Nevertheless, she listened to her professor with intent.

"Alright! For those who don't know," the witch started, her volume at a yell by default, "I am Professor Nelson! I teach physicals! We'll be going over self-defense, combat, flying and other such activities, and I am in charge of any events as such!" She pointed at the board with her wand. "Today, we will be focusing on combat, specifically with staffs, which is something we've drabbled in the past, if you recall from last semester! Today, there will be no magic involved with these staffs, but later on we will practice enchanting, and other such techniques!

"And the reason why we are doing this today is because some classes and periods have changed around, so we are searching for your default rank level! This is important to know who is more advanced than the other! We _do not_ want students competing against students further beyond their skillset to avoid serious injuries!" Professor Nelson's wand whipped to her students. "It is important that you do _not_ fight above your level after this class, unless we have an evaluation day on _my orders!_ Our goal is to build our strength, not break it!"

Nelson stamped her foot on the ground and set her hands on her hips—in a manner, which, reminded Akko of her dad when he was enlisted in the military. "Now is that clear?!"

"Yes, Professor Nelson," everybody answered.

"Good! Now, I will assign pairs at random to test your limits for today! This _is_ an evaluation class!" Nelson thought for a moment, eyes set on Akko and Sucy in particular. "Now, who here does not have experience with combat?"

Out of the two new students, only Sucy raised her hand.

Avery, who stood beside the blue team just behind red, hissed, "Akko? What experience do _you_ have?"

Akko, irked, looked over her shoulder. "A lot, for your information." She narrowed her eyes. Avery, Hannah and Barbara didn't look convinced. Diana...well, she couldn't read her expression; if anything, she was nonchalant and indifferent as always, holding her staff with her hair up, neck just as exposed as her toned leg—

With the shake of her head, Akko turned away once Diana's gaze flicked to hers. _Europeans fetishize legs... _she thought, jaw tight. _And...I don't blame them? Wait, what's combat have to do with Diana again? Stupid, stupid Diana._

"Akko, is it?"

Atsuko jolted and answered Professor Nelson with, "Yes?" The witch arched her brow. "O-Oh, yes ma'am?"

"Would you like to share your experiences, then? I'm sure the class would like to know."

Akko eyed Avery, Hannah and Barbara—and maybe a little of Diana too. "Karate, gymnastics, track, kick-boxing, swim... A little bit of everything."

"Excellent!" Professor Nelson exclaimed with thrill. Akko faced the professor, grinning proudly as the witch said, "It sounds like you're a natural athlete then!"

Akko heard the grumblings behind her, rolled her eyes, and ignored them. The class alone was enough to distract her.

"Alright..." Nelson muttered gruffly. "Now, you—" she nodded to Sucy— "I will show you the ropes before starting..." With a clap of her hands, Professor Nelson then announced, "Okay! I will organize you into pairs, and once you've finished, then I will have you choose your next opponent, starting with you and you, you and you, you and you, you and..."

Five minutes later, and Akko was in the middle of the room with a cushioned, pillow-like vest on her stomach with a red blotch in the middle. Avery was too, in place with her staff confident in her grasp. All those around them had begun to test one another, jabbing and swiping with the staffs.

Akko watched them for a moment, confused.

"What?"

"Eh?" Akko turned back around. "Oh, it's just a lot of people are holding them like swords."

Avery shrugged. "Probably a lot of beginners, I guess. Now, Akko," she said, collecting herself, "we'll have to see what you know. Just so we're clear, I'm at middle ranking."

"Oh, okay." Akko readied herself, then bowed before adjusting to her stance.

Immediately, she blushed at her realization. Avery cocked an eyebrow. "What was that...?"

"Uh... Well, my dad trained me for the most part, and he always had me bow..."

"Oh..." Avery sighed, visibly debating with herself, before bowing politely. "I'm assuming that's what you do in Japan?"

Akko smiled appreciatively, if self-conscious. "Uh, thanks. And kind of. For the traditional stuff, yeah, but I don't have to do it for _everything..._ Let's just start."

With both in position, they began to pace, eyes focused and joints charged. In a sudden burst of motion, Akko stomped forward. Avery tripped over herself, regained her momentum, and prodded the staff towards where Akko _had_ been moments before.

There was a wide grin, something that bewildered Avery. "Wha—" Akko charged once again, but this time the witch was sent to the ground, her calf warm and stinging, with the butt of a staff on her marked blotch.

The red dulled to an orange.

_H-How did she— Did she really beat me that quickly?!_

"What did you do?!" Avery gasped. Apparently the wind had been knocked out of her as well.

"If I told you that, then I'd have to bring you down in a worse way," Akko answered with a grin.

Avery scowled, took Akko's hand and got to her feet. She grumbled, "I guess you have to find somebody else then," before turning away to the other side of the room.

Akko sighed. _That was too easy. She had the most slow-ass fucking reflexes I've seen!_ She meandered around the gymnasium, though wherever she went, witches were _conveniently_ paired up with one another. Lotte was paired, though based on the two red blotches Akko saw, she was still in her first match. Both girls were slow to go after one another, prolonging the duel.

She turned away. Lotte wouldn't be available for a while, and Akko supposed the ginger would refrain from fighting her; Akko acknowledged that she'd most likely be too rough for Lotte, which wasn't the best idea in the world. Sucy was in the corner with Nelson, still learning the basics. The professor even pointed to the students who provided good examples.

Correction: _the_ student who provided good examples. And low and behold, she was Diana Cavendish.

_Of. Fucking. Course._ Akko grouched to herself, _She's perfect at _everything. _Even eating and shitting probably. _Though despite her impression of Diana, Akko had to admit that she had skill with the staff. And that she was obviously athletic. And...just fucking perfect, of _course_. Barely sweating, swift movements, little-to-no signs of trouble, so composed and precise and...and...

And before she knew it, Diana caught on to her staring. After another duel won, she turned around and asked, "What is it, Akko? Do you need tips on form?"

Oh yeah, and Diana was also absolutely infuriating.

Akko scowled. "Why is that the first thing you think?!"

"I don't know, Akko. You're not doing anything."

She then brandished her staff. "Not for long!" Dramatically, Atsuko said, "Duel with me, Diana!"

Witches close within their parameter turned around, pausing in their duels. They gawked at Akko, who _dared_ strike a duel with Diana Cavendish. "Uh...you're gonna get yourself beat," Akko heard.

"Yeah, she's the top in our class."

"Well some people have to learn the hard way..."

"She's got some guts to even ask—"

"Quiet, all of you!" Diana cut across. She turned to Akko and said, "If you want to, we can."

Akko smiled, then gave a small bow. She readied herself. At Diana blinked in confusion, Akko snickered, unapologetic with her dad-enforced habit this time around. Akko kept her gaze on Diana, who nodded her head then posed. Akko smirked: she caught Diana off-guard.

Already.

_Perfect._

Akko stepped to the side, and Diana mirrored her movements without fault. She jerked forward, and Diana was quick to block. Akko chuckled as Diana pursed her lips; even though she bluffed, Diana's reflexes were quick.

But were they faster than hers?

Akko jerked to the left once again, and unsurprisingly Diana blocked to the side only for Akko to swing from the right. The staffs clacked, and Diana briefly lost her footing. _She hits hard, _Diana thought as the staffs' constant smacks against one another echoed throughout the room. Everybody was on the sidelines, watching Diana and Akko.

Akko spun and jabbed at Diana, though the staff was whacked away. She then caught the staff cutting towards her and held it firmly against Diana. Their grips both trembled to their chests, face-to-face with only the staffs in between them.

Diana narrowed her eyes as Akko grinned.

_She's too arrogant for her own good. _Diana shoved Akko and went completely on the offensive. Now it was Akko's turn to be caught off-guard.

She stumbled backwards, and quickly fell straight to the floor. Atsuko grunted once Diana tapped the blotch on her cushion, which soured to orange.

She looked up, defeated as Diana gave a sigh. "I must admit, Akko, you're not bad by any means. But I do not know how you'll fair once magic is involved, especially since you're too foolhardy to win."

"Oh I'll be able to do it, magic or not. I promise you that, Diana!" Akko exclaimed.

Diana pursed her lips, unimpressed, and removed her staff from Akko's cushion. She strode away, leaving Akko propped up on her elbows. Once a pair of heavy boots halted by her side, she looked up. Nelson was writing on her clipboard. "I will put you at tier...nineteen."

Akko got up. "And what about Diana?"

Students began to get back to their duels around them (or congratulating Diana...of course). Nelson said, "Twenty." Akko scowled and folded her arms. "You have a very interesting fighting style."

"Oh...yeah... Am I not supposed to?"

Nelson arched a brow. "I don't care. You know how to use a staff; that's really all that matters." She thought for a moment, then said, "Now that I think about it, you'd probably give everybody a challenge because everybody else here has been taught by me." The professor tapped her clipboard and said, "Now go on, Kagari, find somebody else to duel. We still have forty-or-so minutes left in class."

**— — — — — — — — — —**

Professor Ursula lingered by the double doors that lead to the main halls, a broom tight in her grasp. She would share the smiles that greeted her, and timidly avoided any clumsy contact with any of the students.

_Here we go, down this hall._

Ursula, while rather shy and soft-spoken, was very much a breath of fresh air compared to the other commanding teachers with their laborious tasks. Gentle with her grades, and honest with her feedback—a very, _very_ good breath of fresh air indeed.

She turned the corner to a small hallway for first-year dorms, and prepared to knock on the first door the the left, only to find it open. Ursula paused, amused by Akko's twirling about in a room that had felt well lived-in already. Nostalgia struck for a few moments, Ursula left to reminisce on simpler times.

Those of innocence.

The young woman observed the experimentation table, and the modest shelves of books, the bunks, the Shiny Chariot poster—

Her smile grew weak. _Oh no... _Ursula blinked, and continued to watch the joyous student solemnly.

She jumped in place once Akko had spun around, eyes wide towards the door. "Oh!" she gasped in surprise. "Oh, uh, Professor...uh... Hi!" Akko held her hands behind her back, embarrassed, and said, "I don't have any classes right now...and I've already eaten breakfast, so I just..."

"Oh, no! You're fine," Ursula chuckled. "It's nice to see a student having fun at school."

"Hmm? Oh, yeah..." Akko watched the witch carefully for a moment, waiting for—well, _initially_, she thought of scolding, but she now waited for a task.

And as she watched her, Ursula caught the red in her eyes, flakes of rust within soft chocolate. Professor Ursula felt strong near her. Solid. Her senses brimmed with clarity.

"Um...?"

"Eh? Oh!"The woman shook her head and introduced herself: "I'm Professor Ursula, and you must be Atsuko Kagari?"

"Yeah, but everybody calls me 'Akko,'" the student answered. "And that's cool. So are you one of my teachers?"

Ursula nodded. "Yes, and I've also requested to be your personal tutor as well—to help you with your studies."

"Okay!" Akko beamed. She glanced at the broom curiously. "Is there...anything else?"

"Yes, uh, here's your school-registered broom," Ursula replied, handing over—red-ribbon and all.

Excitedly, Akko took the broom and gazed at it in awe. She grinned and said, "My very own broom! I can fly and everything now!" Akko twirled around once again, the Shiny Rod strapped happily to the back of her vest.

Ursula swallowed. She watched Akko for a moment._The ley-line... She is the one. _Her eyes wandered to the poster at the bottom bunk. _Is it...possible?_ Nervously, Ursula stuttered,"A-About that wand..."

"Oh, this one?" Ursula nodded. "It's not mine," Akko admitted, holding the Shiny Rod in her hand. "It's actually Shiny Chariot's wand! But it was in the forest and...yeah, I don't really know what it was doing there. But Lotte said that we should hand over anything like this, but I plan on giving it to Shiny Chariot whenever I meet her!" Akko declared.

Ursula wrung her wrists. "Oh, well...I-I think for right now you should hang onto it. Don't worry about Chariot. She would want you to keep it safe, I bet." Once she noticed her eyes had dropped to the floor, she picked them back up to find that Akko wasn't listening, far too excited about her broom.

Leaving her to that innocent excitement, Ursula slipped out the door.

Though, at the end of the hall, she heard, "Believing myself is my magic!"

Something rich and bitter stung in her mouth. Ursula thinned her lips. "'Believing myself is my magic..." she echoed cynically.

The taste in her mouth grew more tart; how many times had she said that hollow phrase? It felt like she was kicking a dead horse by merely repeating it. "Huh..." she hummed, strolling down the hall. Even though Ursula still managed to smile at the students, her mind was somewhere else. Somewhere far, far away.

Back to a time when everything wasn't so simple.

**— — — — — — — — — —**

Akko giggled, holding her broom proudly as Lotte and Sucy sat on a bench beside her. "I can't wait until class starts! I can finally ride a broom!" Lotte chuckled as Sucy continued to watch impassively. "I've practiced ever since I was young! I even have a bunch of scars to prove it!" She brandished her knee. "This was jumping off of a slide, and this one—" she revealed her foot— "was when I tumbled down a hill!"

"Well that's what would happen if you didn't have the Sorcerer's Stone," Sucy murmured.

"I know that now! How was I supposed to know as a kid?" She slipped her boot back on and held onto her hat with a grin. "But today I can practice for real!"

Nelson's voice, while somewhat intelligible, rang throughout the air. Their class had begun to gather at the edge of the courtyard. Akko smiled and jogged to meet them with Sucy and Lotte trailing behind at a leisurely pace. "She's like a puppy," Sucy commented.

"Yeah," Lotte giggled. "Isn't it funny?"

Sucy worked her jaw. "I guess." With the two of them caught up, they followed Nelson who led them away from the field. "Where are we going?"

"To New Moon tower, I think. Or the Observatory... I don't really know," Lotte murmured. "But she likes to go to the tower first before doing field work, just to give a challenge at the start." Sucy nodded as Akko clapped her hands together. They strolled through a thick bundle of trees. It was cool in the shade where the birds tittered (and...Akko too). Both Lotte and Sucy remained silent, appreciating her enthusiasm and regretting many, many things respectively.

And when the trees broke to a clearing, Akko craned her neck to the top of the tower. She blinked and froze.

"That's a tall tower..." she mumbled. "Are we going up there?" Lotte nodded. "Oh..." They entered the tower and made their way up the staircase. With each few dozen steps up, the grip around her broom grew stronger and more nervous. At least there were windows with fresh air flowing through. Akko glanced out a window as she passed, inhaling the crisp air every time. They were going really high, weren't they? She asked Lotte, who was still inspecting her borrowed broom, "So...where are we going?"

"To the B broom landing."

"But...how high is that?"

Lotte frowned and shrugged. "I don't really know how high it is. A is the highest, but we'll go to broom landing B across to the Observatory."

"O-Okay. That makes sense." With each broom landing they passed, Akko's knees quivered more, and her palms added a layer of sweat. She could fly, she knew it, but _had_ she before? Quick answer: no. Long answer: yes but at a steep incline down the road without control (and nearly hit a car a couple of times).

And... Oh no. Oh, oh no.

Much to her absolute joy, they were at broom landing B. Akko gulped as the students chattered with elation, Professor Nelson's instructions drowned out—for once.

Lotte smiled to herself and whispered, "I'm so excited to fly. Even though this isn't my broom, it'll still be fun, huh?" Akko could only grunt and nod slowly. Diana (of course) was the first to go, flawlessly taking flight and soaring to the other tower. Lotte watched Akko, concerned, until it was her turn. "Oh...kay, well, I'll just be heading off now."

"Y-Yup."

Lotte blinked. "Are you okay?"

"Peachy," Akko muttered in a small voice. After Avery and Hannah took off, Lotte hopped and flew away to the other tower with ease. And once a good number of people stepped off in the same manner, Akko stumbled forward.

Nelson wrote down a few letters on her clipboard and said, "Alright, your turn." Akko's eyes widened, and she looked down._ Bad idea._ Everybody watched her, even from the other tower.

Across the way, Lotte sighed with Sucy and the blue team beside her. "Oh, Akko..."

"Isn't this her first time flying?" Sucy asked quietly.

"Yeah, it is."

Diana rose a brow. "And she is going to try her first time jumping eighty meters?"

"That's eighty?!" Lotte asked, now thoroughly concerned.

"Roughly," Diana answered. She stepped beside Lotte, hand gentle against the rail. Diana wanted to ask something—anything, really—but couldn't find the proper words as she watched the professor and student argue. Well, Nelson shout and Akko beg.

And, within a minute, there was a familiar smack of a broom (Nelson would often _encourage_ those who wouldn't fly off with a little tap), and intense screaming followed.

Akko was falling.

No, _flailing. _

"_Shit!_" Diana's heart leapt and skipped several beats alike Lotte's, and both slammed further into the railing. Diana didn't care about her broom that tumbled to the ground; her body was halfway shoved over the rails as she jolted her wand towards the screaming witch. "TIA FREYRE!" Diana snapped, and not a second after Akko's broom seized to a terrifying halt.

Akko hung in the air, her strong grip trembling around the broom. A doll swinging on a branch. She reached with her left hand and dangled helplessly.

Both Diana and Lotte gasped, eyes wide with shock. "Th-Thanks...Diana..." the ginger croaked. "I...think you're the one...who stopped...that..."

"Why the hell did she go if she can't _fly?!_" Diana hissed, more to herself than at Lotte. She turned to ask again, more politely, when screaming ripped through the air.

In horror, everybody watched and listened as Akko plummeted towards the trees, and her cries pierced their ears.

"HOLY FUCKING— FUCKING FU-F-F-F-FUUUUCKING SHIT MY— JESUS CHRIST! F-F-F-FUUUU—"

Everybody was dead silent, staring over the edge once an Akko-sized crater ripped through the trees. After a long minute, Hannah wheezed an awkward laugh and asked, "I-Is she _alive?!_"

"Akko!" Lotte screamed, her senses smacking her all at once. She hopped on her broom immediately and flew quickly down.

Diana, swiping her own broom off the ground, stepped to the edge to follow suit. But she gasped, relieved when Akko limped her way out from the trees. She looked up the towers.

"I AM OKAY!" she announced loudly. Diana relaxed with a hand on her chest. A sudden round of applause from both towers erupted.

That is, until it was halted as soon as Akko slumped to the ground.

**— — — — — — — — — —**

Diana hovered with her broom, gently gliding along the trees with chortles behind her. She did her best to ignore them, though with Akko's screams along her own bout of terror before halting the falling broom fresh in her mind, Diana narrowed her eyes in irritation.

"I _cannot_ believe she was stupid enough to do that."

"I know! Who does she think she is? She's barely a witch to begin with—"

Diana, seething, snapped, "Would you two quit that?! Honestly, I almost had a heart attack watching the poor thing fall, and you're laughing about it not three hours after?!" She whipped her head around her shoulder, glaring knives at her teammates. "She's not allowed to fly for the rest of the week once the magic wears off since she had mending done on her fractured _femur!_"

Both Barbara and Hannah were pale. Diana had never shown any sign of _anger_. It was always a mild irritation, and even then her tone was collected. Hannah coughed as Barbara mumbled, "W-Well, we didn't mean it like _that_..." She rubbed the handle of her broom. "We don't want Akko to get hurt or anything, she's just too stupid for her own good."

"Y-Yeah... It's just— Sorry Diana, w-we didn't mean it," Hannah added quietly. "Promise."

Diana closed her eyes and exhaled. Her head throbbed something ugly as tension coiled between her shoulders. She set it aside, determined to get back to the sky, and then opened opened her eyes again without a line of intolerance. "I want to start in a minute. The poles are being reorganized."

Hannah and Barbara followed her gaze, and found that the poles were indeed almost ready. The former of the two glanced towards another foundation for a loop. "Wouldn't it be cool if we brought those up?" she asked, pointing.

"I haven't seen those get used at all," Barbara said. "But yeah... Oh my god!"

Diana arched a brow as the girls squealed. "What is it?"

"There's a family of gophers!"

The tension in her shoulder-blades snapped across her chest, and Diana felt her gut jolt. "...gophers?" she asked quietly. The girls watched heads poke out from their small den, eyes wide and cautious.

"Yeah, aren't they cute?" Hannah asked.

Barbara giggled, "They must've made the ring their home."

Diana swallowed with a sudden, suppressed anxiety. She turned herself away and instead watched Akko as she limped towards a bench across the field, Lotte and Sucy alongside her. "Let's go. No more distractions," she ushered coolly.

"Oh, come on, Diana," Barbara said. "They're so cute!"

Diana shook her head. "May I remind you that the race is next weekend? We are not given a lot of time to prepare ourselves, as it is."

"Fine, fine," Barbara chuckled. "Go and warm up, I'll get my timer." She turned around and jerked her chin. "Come on, Hannah."

"Alright..."

Diana breathed slowly, pushing aside their continued chatter on the gophers. She took to the sky without hesitation, eager to dispel her worries about Akko, and the hunger that the ache in her shoulder curdled. She wanted to be free from all of it.

**— — — — — — — — — —**

Lotte watched as Sucy slid on her broom and took to the sky, practicing the small obstacle course set up at the end of the field; poles were scattered about, urging the students to twist and turn around them, demonstrating their agility during flight.

Students except for Akko.

She sat on the bench, her broomstick up in her dorm after the nurse urged her to rest after taking quite the fall. Lotte sat beside her on a bench, watching her friend cautiously. Like the first day of school, Akko stared off into space, her expression not as bubbly and childish as usual. Nor was it nostalgic, or determined. Lotte didn't know what it was, only that it wasn't happy.

"Hey, Akko?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you doing good?"

Akko glanced at some of the bandages that coated her arms. "Yeah. They don't sting anymore. Whatever the nurse did worked."

"That's...good, especially with your leg," Lotte murmured, "but that's not what I meant." Akko arched a brow. "I mean, you don't look happy, and not just because you scraped yourself a bit..." She reconsidered. "A lot."

There came a sigh. "Yeah..." Akko continued to watch the field as a witch on a broom soared past, ripping through the air. Her platinum and lime hair danced after her, and Akko felt her cheeks warm once catching enchanting blue eyes briefly glancing over her. But she frowned. "Why does Diana always have to be so..._good_ at everything? How does she do that, like..." Akko sunk in her seat and mumbled, "I'm never going to be as good as her at the rate I'm going. I couldn't even fly a broom properly."

"Well, I guess but everybody goes at their own pace," Lotte said. "Diana is a part of an old witch family, so she'll have natural talent and will be able to pick witchcraft up pretty quickly. And you're also the first witch in your family, so a lot of this stuff that's not new to me is new to you."

"But even in the other classes," Akko countered, "she's so good at math and stuff... And at my school, I literally was doing math until I dropped dead. _Everything_ was drilled into me constantly, and I'm still not as good as her."

Lotte nodded, more to be sympathetic than anything. "Yeah, well, you might need to take more time to learn everything. And maybe you can learn from her."

"From Diana?!" Akko exclaimed hotly.

Her friend rolled her eyes and said, "Yes, from Diana. Look, maybe it'll help watching the race coming up next weekend. Then you can see kinda how flying a broom is like."

Akko sighed and rested her cheek in her palm. "Yeah, I guess." She continued to watch Diana fly with ease.

"Well, I'm going to go talk to Sucy a bit. Want to come or are you going to sit here?"

"I'll stay."

Lotte nodded. "Okay. I think we'll be going to the cafeteria to eat something too, after she's done."

Akko smiled softly and nodded; maybe some food would cheer her up a bit. She watched Lotte walk towards Sucy, who hovered in the middle of the poles with leisure.

Her smile dropped as Diana raced past once again. _She really is perfect at everything, isn't she? _Akko frowned. _Honestly. Is there something she isn't good at?_

**— — — — — — — — — —**

Sharp winds caressed her face as she blitzed across the field.

Diana pulled her broom upwards, its handle reaching towards the clouds before guiding back around in a loop. Her heart pounded, almost giddy. Hands tensed as she neared the end of the field marked by a small sampling.

_No. Not now. _

A small smile broke free, and she turned sharply, darting diagonally with the speed of a bullet.

Her hat tussled against the breeze, and her hair followed her forward stance like ribbons. If Diana wasn't captured by her studies, this would be all she wanted to do: feel her adrenaline rush and chest buzz with excitement, sloughing off the horrid tension that constantly brewed. Fly amongst the birds or race with the chorus of hooves—it didn't matter. Though, perhaps she preferred soaring with a mighty steed under her, feeling their attitude at the tip of the reins.

Maybe that was why her broom was specialized; the attention it was given—from wood polishing to brush clippings—gave the impression it was manufactured rather than crafted hundreds of years ago. She could practically feel the gleeful spirit of the broom, humming against her hands. The broom was no Garson, but it certainly was close enough. It had a spirit for her to wrangle and manage. Even though it had no such organ, Diana felt she could feel its heart beat.

Diana streamed back towards the sapling, feeling her joyride was up as Hannah and Barbara hovered closer to the end point. Her broom skidded to a halt, and she hopped off, a delightful buzz flowing throughout her body.

"That was amazing!" Barbara awed.

Hannah nodded. "You went up so high like—" she snapped— "that!"

"Thank-you. I was just having a little fun," Diana said lightly.

"Sure looked like it. You'll help us with the race then?"

"Yeah! You can show everybody else how much better you are!" added Barbara.

Diana nodded humbly and said, "I will, if only to fly. Nothing else." She began to walk off, her friends following behind her casually on their brooms.

As Diana began to pass Akko, she heard a soft voice: "That was really amazing, Diana. I wish I could do that too."

She paused as Akko winced, getting to her feet. Diana didn't realize before how many bandages Akko needed until now. It must have been dozens.

Diana grimaced at the girl's limp; while her bone was healed, she could only imagine the sprite of pain that followed Akko when walking. Diana sighed as Barbara and Hannah giggled behind her. "It takes time and practice, Akko. What I do doesn't happen immediately."

"You mean you used to not be able to do that?" Diana felt something itch within her chest as Akko stared at her, hope in her eyes; she didn't know quite what it was.

"Really? You're talking to a Cavendish, Akko," Hannah scoffed. "Of course she—"

"Akko, you just need to work for it. That's all I have to say."

Akko furrowed her brows, determined. "Okay! I will. I'm going to fly before you know it!" she promised.

Diana pursed her lips as laughter erupted behind her (including, "Falling doesn't count!"). Despite their tittering, Hannah and Barbara didn't seem to deter Akko's enthusiasm. However, Diana turned around and hissed for them to silence themselves: "What did I say not _five_ damn minutes ago?"

They hushed themselves immediately.

Akko blinked with a small blush blooming. Diana turned back around and asked, "Your leg... Will you be alright?"

With a quiet laugh, Akko waved her off and said, "Yeah, I'll be fine. The nurse said to not fly until Sunday, but I can start tomorrow—"

"_Akko!_"

"What?!" The grin returned, and she watched Diana with the same awe as her teammates. And yet...Diana didn't mind. If anything, she was awfully flattered. "I'm going to fly! I _will_ do it!" she promised enthusiastically, spirits lifted. She strode away with such confidence towards where Sucy was flying—her injuries not slowing her pace—that Diana was left stunned.

Once collecting herself, Diana continued her path towards the main campus. She ignored her friends' usual chatter. Her impassive expression softened, nearly to a grin.

Akko, at the very least, amused her. _She never gives up, does she?_

**— — — — — — — — — —**

The next practice came quickly, on the Friday, with witches flying across a field rather than from one tower to another. Diana zoomed past several witches, reaching the marker first with Barbara and Hannah waiting.

Barbara squeezed on a stop-watch and grinned. _Seventeen-point-three!_

"I'm going to do another one, okay? And you don't have to time me for this, I'm just going to go around," Diana called.

"Alright," Hannah replied with a wave. "I'll come with you later!"

Diana nodded then blasted up. She squinted with the sun in her eyes, then turned at the sound of a whistle.

"Amanda! How many times do I have to tell you, no acrobatics!"

Amanda, who'd been flying precariously about, groaned and laid on her broom, hovering by Diana. "Party pooper," she muttered.

"Well, you were pushing it," Diana said.

Amanda rolled her eyes and ran a quick hand through her flaming hair as she sat up. "Oh _please_, I know you're just like me from watching you speed around like that." Diana arched a brow. "Oh come on. You can't deny it. You're just as much of a daredevil as me."

"I'd argue otherwise," Diana murmured.

"Oh? Well then, if _you're_ not the daredevil, and I am, you're a speed-demon."

Diana scoffed, though she didn't deny anything. Instead, she replied, "Well at least I have the patience."

"Uh huh." Amanda folded her arms.

Both girls looked down once giggles erupted below, and Diana sighed. Akko was on her broom, now with a helmet and training wheels attached to her flying instrument. Though, even if every fiber in Diana's being wanted to scold Akko for ignoring the nurse's requests, she couldn't deny that the witch promised her she would.

Amanda chuckled lightly. "She can never catch a break, huh? Anyway, are you racing?"

"Of course."

"Speed-demon..."

"Excuse me?"

Amanda waved her hand. "Nothing," she said airily, her eyes trailing Hannah as she flew to meet Diana. "But you won't win. I've already got first place under my belt from last year."

Diana folded her arms and asked, "Is that a challenge?"

Amanda shrugged. "Depends."

With a wry grin, Diana replied, "Oh, then I suppose I won't take it." As she began to drift away, she said, "Good luck on the race, Amanda, you'll need it."

Amanda scowled briefly, then arched a brow once she noticed Hannah lingered. With a devilish smirk, she winked. A light blush seared Hannah's cheeks, and she flew after Diana without a word, something that boosted Amanda's ego by a great deal. "I still got it," Amanda snickered. It _had_ been a while since she made a straight girl blush.

"Amanda! You still have to practice your flying!"

She nearly jerked off her broom as she glared down at Nelson. Grumbling, Amanda continued to fly. "Oh that fucking hag... She knows I can fly! Just because I'm put in a first-year class..."

Down below, Akko frowned with her training wheels and helmet, watching the other students longingly. Diana was, of course, in the spotlight, giddy witches clustered around Barbara who held her stop-watch. Diana halted, landing on the ground gracefully with a whip her hair, earning an impressed hum from Professor Nelson. "Now_ that_ girl can ride. She's going to win the race for sure."

Akko scowled because she knew she was right. But...

**— — — — — — — — — —**

"Why do people _love_ Diana so much! It's not like she's _so_ fantastic!" Akko huffed, storming down the hallway with agitated stomps. Students walked around her, quite used to her antics by now. "Some _other_ people could be better, you know! _And_ Diana even said that I could do it with practice too!"

She _hmphed_ and folded her arms, halting in front of a trophy case. "I swear..." She glanced at the trophy case.

"Oh, this must be the winners of the relay from past years," she mumbled. Akko stared into the framed pictures hung within and gasped. Right in the middle was a picture of a red-haired witch excitedly brandishing a trophy with her team looking startled beside her. "Shiny Chariot!" Akko whispered in awe. "She won the race?! Well...if she did, then I can! Wait—"

An idea was born.

"If I win and beat Diana in the race, then I can show everybody I don't need fucking training wheels to—"

"Akko?"

Atsuko sputtered and twirled around, eyes wide. Professor Ursula stood there with a book in her hand, and a confused look. "P-Professor! I didn't...um...mean— I didn't see—"

Ursula chuckled and said, "It's okay, Akko. You're looking to enter in the race...?"

Akko nodded slowly. "Yeah. Well, I'm thinking about it."(That wasn't necessarily a lie, though she was thinking of _how_ she could enter rather than if she wanted to in the first place. Her mind was already made up, you see.)

"Oh, well it would be fun to do," the professor said. "Anyway, I brought you something that could help you." She handed the book over and Akko frowned.

"A coloring book?" _My First Broomstick_ it read in big, bubbly rainbow letters across a baby blue (with a baby) cover.

"Well, yes... And it's already colored though. _But_," Ursula assured, "I-I know it looks a little childish, but I think it could help you—"

"I'm gonna study this all night! Thank-you professor, this is just what I needed!" Akko exclaimed, dashing off with a quest in mind. Professor Ursula stood there in mild shock, watching her student eagerly turn the corner. She chuckled softly and walked the other direction.

Not before glancing at the trophy case, her eyes landing on Chariot. Her lips thinned sadly. "Oh Akko...there's so much you need to know."

**— — — — — — — — — —**

One of the best things about her suite was the stunning view of the campus' courtyard, overlooking the edge of the dense trees and towers that surrounded Luna Nova. Oftentimes, Diana would sit with her tea and look out the window, either from her desk or the armchair right beside it, and watch the stars. However, at this particular morning, she'd awoken to curious thumps and yells (and pleads?), urging her tea session to be much earlier than usual. And instead of the luscious forest and great blue sky, her attention was down below where Akko was on her knees, begging to her broom.

"Come on! Please! I need you to race! _Please! _Come on, please!" she barely heard Akko cry.

_Maybe I should go and help her. _Diana took a sip of her tea, a small entertained grin spreading; it wasn't ill-natured by any means, but soft. _No. She's doing just fine on her own. _She chuckled to herself as Akko slipped over her broom, somehow managing to bash the handle against her forehead. Her smile grew as Akko laid face-first on the ground, momentarily defeated.

"I've never seen you giggle before."

Diana froze and turned to her side. Barbara looked out the window and gave a loud laugh of her own. It wasn't fond like Diana's, but completely and utterly catty. "What is she doing?"

"What?" Hannah strode over from her bed and looked outside. "Is she trying to fly?"

"I guess so. Who doesn't know how to fly? She's a witch!"

"Well..."

At their tittering, Diana's gentle smile subsided. She watched Atsuko solemnly. "Like, I was only three when I first flew!"

She frowned to herself as Hannah proclaimed, "Wow! Me too!"

If only if it had been that easy for her—and for Akko presently.

Diana continued to stare down as Akko cradled her broom, knowing full well what she was saying. After all, it hadn't been that long ago when she did the same thing. Hell, Diana remembered for her birthday, she even _prayed_ to _have_ the chance to hover. By that time, she could do some magic, but unlike a new pony or a fancy dress, all Diana wanted to have for her tenth birthday was to fly.

She could ride a horse. She could run freely. She could swim to her heart's content.

Her frown creased; she could even slither.

But fly? Blasphemy. Until, that is, she got her birthday wish.

"Hey, how old were you when you first flew, Diana?"

She blinked at Barbara and Hannah for a moment, both watching her eagerly. In their eyes were pride and sheer, unjust awe; their stares were what Diana supposed a younger sibling would look at her like.

"Well..." she murmured slowly.

Diana couldn't watch them grow disappointed. Even if they could be obnoxious with their support for Diana, and perhaps aggressive, she couldn't deny that they were the first who revered her in the way they did; she wasn't just some perfectly-bred foal with an highly-esteemed stallion and mare as parents. Well, perhaps she _was,_ but Diana didn't have to prove to them that she was more.

"Well," she repeated, unable to meet their expectations, "I wasn't...three."

They gasped at one another, and Diana immediately knew her mistake. Nevertheless, she let them take her reply as they wanted to and continued to watch outside. Akko was trying again, looking back to her book.

Diana didn't frankly believe she would be able to fly for the race. _But__...I__'d like to see that. _Diana pursed her lips and took another sip from her tea.

Yes, she'd like to see that.

If not for Akko, or for her right then and there, then for the nearly-ten-year-old who just wanted to fly and not just ride, run, swim or slither. For the nearly-ten-year-old who didn't have to meet anybody's expectations aside from her own.

Diana walked to her desk and sat down, pulling out her notes from several classes.

For the nearly-ten-year-old who's now long-gone, previously suppressed until she had heard a strange thump outside her window, and saw a struggling Akko.

* * *

_Hope you enjoyed!_

_:)_


	4. Pt I - Racing Witches

_Hope you enjoy!_

_:)_

* * *

**~ Blood of Magic ~**

**|Part 1|  
RACING WITCHES  
[Ep. #3]**

* * *

Hannah, Barbara and Avery giggled as they strode across the field, their eyes following the other teams as they raced through the sky on brooms.

"Yeah," Avery said with a shrug, "he said that we'll see each other again once this semester's over. Tommy mentioned that we'll spend the weekend in his condo."

"Wow!" Barbara gushed. "Hearing about you and Tom makes me want to find someone too, right Hannah?" Hannah nodded, briefly lingering in place as a broom blitzed past with a green ribbon trailing it. Barbara and Avery snickered. "Oh, _Hannah._"

Hannah grunted once Avery's elbow dug itself into her side. "Ow! I nodded yes!" she pouted. She rubbed her shoulder. "And that hurt, Avery!"

Avery rolled her eyes with a light chuckle. "Oh, lighten up. In any case," she said with a wide grin, "I think you already have someone in mind."

"W-What?!" Hannah snapped. "_No!_ I just have other things on my mind than boys."

"I don't know... You've been wanting to go down to the bookstore a lot lately," Barbara murmured.

"Ew. You're not talking about _Daniel,_ are you?" Hannah gagged. "I told you, he's creepy!"

Barbara released an exaggerated sigh as they slowed to a halt. "Uh, _no_, I'm talking about Ryan. You two were flirting so much that Diana had to leave so she could concentrate on homework."

"Oh my god, really?!" Avery laughed. "I can't imagine Diana just leaving such a cutie like that!"

With a wave of her hand, Barbara said, "Eh, she's actually not interested in relationships. Diana doesn't talk a lot about her personal life, but when she does, it has nothing to do with love or whatever."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I guess being a Cavendish has its perks. She doesn't need to focus on anything right now and can pick up a guy later."

"Speaking of Diana, is she okay? I thought she was going to be flying now," Avery asked.

Barbara nodded. "Yeah, she looked a bit pale, I guess... But she said that she would be better after a few hours."

Hannah agreed, and added, "Well, Diana woke up earlier than usual too. When I got up, she was already drinking her tea and watching Akko fuck up with her broom."

Avery grinned, her concern subsided. "_Anyway,_ what happened with Ryan then?"

"_No_..." Hannah groaned. "Flirting doesn't mean I like him!"

Barbara chuckled, patting Hannah's shoulder playfully. "_So,_ Ryan came over to the bench we were sitting at and started to talk to Hannah, and they went on and on about eyes and hair—"

"_Barbara,_" Hannah whined with a furious blush.

"And _then_ Diana just gave them the look—you know what I'm taking about, the same one she gives Akko—and just got up and left!"

"Barbara!"

Avery snorted and giggled, "Hannah, what do you _mean_ you have other things in your mind besides boys?!"

"I-I just do, okay?!" Hannah huffed, arms folded. Eager to ditch the topic, she glanced to the side where the abandoned broom hurtle lay. "Oh! Barbs, don't you remember the gophers by the ring?" she asked. "We can see if they're out still!"

Barbara nodded, her arched brow pointed far behind them. "Like how Akko's back at it in the courtyard?" The girls watched the red team for a few minutes, giggling at the distant screams of annoyance from the witch who couldn't fly.

"Anyway," Hannah muttered, unimpressed, "we can look at the guys little babies instead!"

"Are they more entertaining than watching Akko fall?" Avery asked. Hannah rolled her eyes, leading the way. "Are there a lot of them?"

"I think so," Barbara answered. "We didn't count, but they were so cute!"

Both girls laughed joyously as they neared the ring until walking into Hannah. "What the—? Hannah, why...?"

Avery's teasing grin fell once she caught onto Hannah's fixed stare or _horror;_ Hannah kept her hands over her mouth, absolutely speechless. "Uh, what are you..." Barbara followed her friend's eyes and grew rigid. "Oh my god. No... _No!_"

The girls stood frozen at the foot of fresh dirt, patches of grass thrown about. Craters had torn the gophers' home to shreds. It was the remains of a vile attack. Hannah, cautiously, crouched down. This was no attack, as she concluded.

It was a slaughter.

No rodent was left in one piece. Their shattered bones and torn pelts scattered the area, coated in dark blood.

"They... They were here a day ago!" Barbara gasped. "W-What happened to them?!"

Avery gulped. "S-Some animal, I guess..."

"But how?" Hannah whispered. "There's no paw prints. And it doesn't look like the holes were clawed out..."

"Then what does it look like, Hannah? You would know, right? Your dad studies this kind of stuff."

Hannah shook her head, then her voice cracked: "I don't know. It kind of looks like someone dug them out with a shovel and..."

"What's going on here?"

The trio spooked and immediately straightened up. Professor Nelson hopped off her broom behind them, hand on her hip. "Well, ladies?"

Barbara pointed. "Well, we found a family of gophers yesterday with Diana, and now they're...all dead."

Professor Nelson blinked in surprise, then strode over. "Hold this," she said, jutting her broom to Hannah. As the girl did what she was told, the witch crouched and observed. "Another one..." she murmured quietly. "And it's just like the first..."

"W-What?" Avery stuttered.

Nelson ignored her and slipped off her glove. Carefully, she dipped a fingertip of the glove into puddled black blood. The cloth was eaten away to the first knuckle. "Dammit," she swore quietly. Back to her feet, Professor Nelson revealed, "Yes. There's been an animal problem since last semester. Of course, with this forest and then Arcturus just outside of it, who knows what's out there?"

"But your glove!" Hannah pointed. "Isn't it dangerous to us?"

"Of course it is! We're trying to figure out what's gotten loose on campus, and if it has a nest somewhere. The black right there mixed with the blood is its venom, and it's highly toxic. It will eat your skin away if you let it." The professor stared into the trees with narrowed eyes. "Now just keep a sharp lookout for anything, and everything will be okay, alright?"

"Yes ma'am," the three said in unison.

Professor Nelson nodded. "Good. Now keep away from this area if you can. Go out and practice for the race, ladies. I know your two teams are racing."

The girls murmured their agreements, and Professor Nelson was off. They hesitated for a few moments, mourning the butchered innocent. The world around them continued without acknowledgement. In the distance, Akko was still fighting with her broom, and Professor Nelson's whistle blew.

"AMANDA, WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU?! YOU PRACTICE THE COURSE PROPERLY, OR YOU DON'T RACE AT ALL!"

Their professor's yell (and the second-year's groan) jerked them from the scene, sending them to a slow pace back towards the main grounds for their brooms. None of the three spoke a word.

**— — — — — — — — — —**

She groaned, rubbing her forehead with the broom in between her legs. Even a few minutes after, her head still hurt like hell. Akko sighed and snapped, "Tia freyre!"

And...nothing.

"Why you fuckin—"

"I kind of had a hunch before...but she's really a dumbass."

Akko froze and craned her neck to the side. Sucy and Lotte both stood there, watching her contently. "Sucy!" Akko barked. "We can't win if you're making fun of me!"

"You know I don't actually care about the race, right?" Sucy countered.

"But you're competing too!" Akko marched over with a slip of official paper in her hand (a stamp, signature and everything) with a smug grin. "I already registered our team!"

"I-I never agreed to this!" Lotte protested.

Sucy crossed her arms. "Well I'll just forfeit."

"You can't do that! We have to win first place so that we can have our photo put right next to Shiny Chariot's!" Akko exclaimed.

Lotte studied the official paper closely. "Wow. It looks like the winners of the championship receive a trophy and a prize from Professor Lukić."

"Oh?" Sucy eyed the paper closely. "Lukić, huh?"

"Of course _now_ you're interested..." Akko grumbled, the professor's laugh sending shivers down her spine. "Although, I wonder what the prize is."

"I bet it's something really cool," Sucy fawned.

Lotte nodded. "Yeah, but_ I _can't Akko. I don't have my broom, remember?"

Akko tilted her head and asked, "Well when do you get it?"

"Oh, uh..." Lotte blinked. She had forgotten in the midst of Akko's efforts to _fly. _"Actually...today."

"Really?! So that means you can race?"

Lotte sighed and said, "Yeah, I guess so. I'm heading to the magical item café right now to pick it up, now that I think of it."

"You go do that, I'm going to study the mushroom I found last week," Sucy said, strolling towards the double doors.

Akko picked up her broom and book. "Magical item café? What's that?"

Lotte chuckled. "Do you wanna come with?"

Akko nodded exaggeratively.

**— — — — — — — — — —**

And while Akko did enjoy the nice walk into town, her eyes wandering along the buildings and fluffy clouds, "You know, a broom would've gotten us here faster."

Lotte chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, but we can't use magic out here. The energy of the Sorcerer's Stone doesn't reach town."

Akko hummed to herself, side-stepping to get out of a hurried-looking man's way. "So...what's the 'magic item café' again?"

"They're an all-purpose magic store that sells and repairs magical items," Lotte explained, "and they even serve you tea." Atsuko grinned excitedly before slamming into another person. As she apologized profusely, Lotte asked, "Amanda? What are you doing here?"

"Uh?" Amanda, who Akko now recognized as another student, turned around. She was quite charming in looks, especially since her lime green eyes clashed with her rich red hair; though, despite that, her smirk was one of a trickster's and her eyes were that of a fox's.

Akko found herself enamored by her American accent, something far more relaxed than the posh ones of the blue team: "Oh. I'm just picking up some things for the race," she answered simply. "See you two later."

With that, Amanda left Akko and Lotte at a brisk, determined pace. "I don't like the sound of that," Lotte murmured, although amused. "She's scheming."

"Does she always do that?" Akko asked.

Lotte shrugged. "Yeah. I don't really know too much about her though. She's a year above us, I think. We only have her for our electives."

"Ah. I see." She looked around and pointed ahead. "Is that it? The...'Last Wednesday Society'?"

Lotte nodded. "Yup. That's it."

As they made their way closer, Akko frowned. The shop was decorated in grotesque and stereotypically witchy things—which, the more she thought about it, was more in Lukić's style. Essentially, if it wasn't dead, it was swirling around in a jar. And if it wasn't tattered, worn or dusty, it was profusely tacky. She pointed at the shop, unimpressed; "Really?" she mumbled.

Lotte could only shrug.

With a jingle of a bell, they stepped inside the shop. As Akko began to look around, Lotte pulled out a small slip of paper.

"Welcome!" the shop owner replied. He was a round man with a small beard reserved for his chin, and sported shoulder-length brunette hair. He smiled as Lotte stepped up to the counter.

"Hi," she replied, handing him the paper. "I was wondering if my broom was ready."

He took the piece of paper and scanned it. "Let's see... Yeah, it should be. Just a minute." The shop owner fixed his name-tag (because the damn thing never stayed on properly) labelled "Jared".

Jared strode to the back of the shop, leaving Lotte to watch Akko curiously.

"So where's the café?" Akko asked, looking around. Lotte pointed to a rather pathetic excuse of a café, a cobweb spindled around a couple of stools' legs. Akko deflated. "...talk about false advertisement," she grumbled, prompting a light chuckle from Lotte.

She then turned towards a rack of potions reading, "'Juice that turns you into a frog-leg,' and this makes you a chameleon tongue? Who would want this?"

The rattle of metal tore her attention towards the back wall. She blinked, not exactly sure as of what she was looking at. There was a broom fidgeting in chains, trembling against the tall cage-like case that contained it. A red-tipped arrowhead dawned its top with the broom bristles long and warm in color. Curiously, Akko stepped closer with Lotte following her.

"A broom?"

Lotte fixed her glasses. "It looks so familiar." She glanced to the side of the cage where a newspaper clipping was proudly framed and hung. She gasped. "It's the legendary Broom-Shooting Star!"

"I've never heard of it," Akko said, intrigued.

"Long ago, there once was a witch wo crossed the pacific ocean riding on a broom," Lotte explained excitedly. "It flew without the aid of the Sorcerer's Stone. This broom supplied its own source of magical energy, and it flew just like a shooting star!"

"So there _are_ ways to fly without the sorcerer's stone..." Akko stared at the Shooting Star in wonder. "A broom with it's own magical powers," she murmured. Atsuko gripped the cage bars determinedly, and stated firmly, "Dibs."

"Whoa, hey!" Jared stepped out from the back room and handed Lotte her new broom. "Don't touch the merch! That broom is _off-limits_," he emphasized.

"For reals?"

"Yeah," confirmed Jared. "That thing's just way too dangerous to ride. It'll keep flying even if you fall off it. But thanks to this lock here, even if this broom escapes, it'll get pulled back." He chuckled a bit. "Tragic, huh? Anyway, if it ever got loose, the boss—" he pointed his thumb to his chest— "wouldn't be too happy."

Akko, with an excited grin and a fox-like gleam in her eye, clutched her hands together. "So it goes super fast?"

Jared chuckled. "I've heard it goes faster than a speeding bullet," he stated proudly.

"Great! Let me borrow it!" Akko said.

As Jared blinked in surprise, rubbing his tattoo on his forearm, Lotte gasped, "Akko!"

"If I had it, not only will I be able to fly, I would be able to win the broom relay!" Akko then pled, "I only need it for a day!"

"Hang on... You can't be serious," Jared said, unamused.

"As a matter of fact, I'm quite serious."

He waved a large hand. "Don't be silly. There's nobody alive that can ride that crazy thing." With a chuckle as Lotte picked up a newspaper, Jared declared, "Diana is gonna win the competition this year, hands-down."

Lotte read from the newspaper, "In this author's 'most humble opinion, the most popular rider is without a doubt Diana Cavendish...'"

"_Huh?!_" Akko folded her arms and scowled. "Diana this Diana that."

Lotte arched a brow. "You did say she was a really good rider yesterday. _And_ you watched her for the better part of two hours."

"So?! What does that have to do with anything?!"

Both Jared and Lotte shared an identical glance.

"So...okay, anyway, _forget_ Diana. Can I borrow it?"

"No!"

**— — — — — — — — — —**

At the edge of New Moon tower, recent events quickly came to mind.

Akko avoided looking down the tower the best she could as Sucy fastened the end of a strong bungee rope to the railing. And what was more, Akko was at the other end of that rope, tied to her broom. "Why are we doing this, again?!" she asked, frantically. It was a beautiful day. Not so much for a day to die, but one to watch the clouds or watch Diana. Or study too. Or— _Wait, watch Diana? What the hell?_

Sucy's smirk brought Akko out of her confused thoughts. She had to have been an absolute _moron_ to trust Sucy with planning her "training day".

"Because in order to win, you actually need to be able to ride a broom," Sucy answered simply. Atsuko stared at her warningly. "I think it's best if you jump into the pool, completely head-first." She booped her nose.

Akko staggered backwards, and she was off, then up, then down, then up and then down at terrifying speeds. All the way she was screaming horrible words that would have her mother whip her with a belt at home (then a shoe...a broom...a tire...a tree...); that is, if she knew english well, anyway.

Lotte chuckled, bemused with a slight tint of red in the cheeks. "She really doesn't hold back, huh?"

"...YOU FUCKING CUNT I'LL BEAT YOUR ASS WHEN I GET BACK UP THERE AND THEN YOU FUCKING WILL..."

Sucy smirked, watching Akko, completely entertained. "I got to say, she's getting really creative."

"...YOU'RE JUST A PIECE OF SHIT SUCY! YOU'RE JUST A PIECE OF SHIT..."

"And it's a nice touch that we can't hear half of it."

"...HOPE YOU FUCKING EAT SHIT AND LIVE, SUCY...!"

At that line, Lotte and Sucy completely lost their composure and howled with laughter against the railing. "Oh my god," Sucy snorted, "she can't be serious."

"...I HATE YOU ALL...!"

"I think she is," Lotte laughed.

"...WILL SHOVE YOUR CUNTS SO FAR UP YOUR ASS AND..."

"Oh, but it's only the beginning."

And so it was.

Sucy had made the _whole schedule_ that evening, you see.

At quarter 'til three, Akko was slammed into a cannon and shot across the campus with her broom tied around her waist. (It kind of(?) worked like the bungee jump.) At half-past four, Akko scrambling between Lotte's new broom and Sucy's, dangling with her own and held herself up by a tarp tied to her friends' brooms. (Not very successful, Sucy could admit, though Akko's constant bitching was more than enough to give her joy.) Then there was dragging her behind a very good rider (Sucy) close to the ground so that Akko would have constant support (to the face). That was at five sharp. Oh, and how could Sucy forget Akko hurling herself off the end of her broom in a vain attempt of catching flight.

Well, she did, but barreling face-first to the ground below was not considered to be flying by even Lotte's standards.

"Can we stop now?!" Akko whined, sporting new bandages. She blinked up at her two friends as her broom was tossed to her lap.

Sucy grinned. "Go on, try it now."

"Yeah!" Lotte smiled. "Let's see if you can fly!"

Awkwardly (since she landed on her ass for what felt like an infinite amount of times), Akko got to her feet and nodded. "Yeah, I guess it couldn't hurt!" She prepped herself up and held her broom tightly. "Tia freyre!"

The world was still.

Nothing.

Growling, Akko got off her broom and slammed it onto the ground with a hardy, "God dammit!" The broom, as it turns out, didn't appreciate that and bounced, promptly whacking her in the face.

Sucy and Lotte sighed collectively before the former muttered, "Does she have _any_ chance of flying? Well..." She shrugged and started trudging back towards the school. "Back to the drawing board, I guess."

**— — — — — — — — — —**

The sun was shining, the clouds were fluffy and the sky was a perfect blue. The breeze was gentle, far from intimidating. In short, Diana thought it was a perfect day for flying.

And, of course, a perfect day for racing as well.

Everybody was clustered in front of Headmistress Holbrook as she gave her brief speech: "We will soon begin the 1333rd Luna Nova cup broom relay! In addition to earning prestige for themselves, the winning team shall also win the special prize from our very own Professor Lukić!" She smiled pleasantly and said, "Now then, good luck to you all!"

With that, the students disbanded and began to stretch, readying themselves with their brooms. Diana watched everybody, though her attention kept drifting back towards Akko. _So she really is racing. _She couldn't help the curious beat of her heart, nor her slight impressed quirk of her lips.

A squeak of a microphone rang throughout the air. "HELLO AND WELCOME BROOM-RELAY FANS FROM AROUND THE WORLD! THIS IS LUNA NOVA NEWS NETWORK WITH A SPECIAL REPORT!" Wangari shouted. "THE STAGE IS SET," she added dramatically, "AND ALL OF THE RIDERS ARE READY FOR AN EPIC SHOWDOWN!"

Diana barely caught Lotte saying, "They look so athletic!" Akko was visibly peeved, crossing her arms and briefly running a hand over her biceps. Diana arched a brow.

"Oh! And over here is the dark horse, Amanda O'Neill!" Diana turned towards the green team and saw Amanda leaning against a shaky crate cloaked in white. Diana narrowed her eyes suspiciously, and she saw she wasn't the only one; Akko stared as well, lips pursed. "How are you feeling?"

Nonchalantly, Amanda answered, "Oh, I'm just looking to have a good time." The box rustled aggressively, to which she snapped, "Hey, chill out would you?" At Wangari's puzzled stare, she said, "Oh... It's nothing, really."

Over Amanda's shoulder and passed the red team, Wangari made eye-contact with Diana. She grew excited, and Diana sighed. _Here we go._

"COULD IT BE?!" Wangari gasped. She bolted across the field, leaving her assistance to scramble after her. "IT'S OUR VERY OWN DIANA! Any words for us?!"

Diana thought for a moment, then replied as Hannah and Barbara smiled at the camera, "I just want to fly like I always do. Nothing more, nothing less."

At Wangari's bellow, Diana jerked with ringing ears: "WELL THERE YOU GO! DIANA JUST WANTS TO FLY LIKE ALWAYS!"

Over another loudspeaker, Nelson hollered for all the racers.

Diana bowed her head politely and lead Hannah and Barbara towards the podium. They stood in a straight line, Hannah in front, Barbara in between leaving Diana at the back. Once Nelson was satisfied with the line-up, she put away her magical megaphone and crossed her arms. "For this race, you'll be flying Luna Nova's elite course! Don't forget to go to the sorcerer's stone to charge up! The primary rider must remember to check that the baton is secured!" Hannah nodded dutifully as several other primary riders did. "If the baton is damaged, lost or not passed, the team will be disqualified! Now, primary riders, get to position!" Nelson pointed to her side then to the other. "Secondary and tertiary riders, you too!"

Once again, the racer disbanded from the podium, though now they were eager to get to the tall, wooden checkpoints (for tertiary riders, the New Moon tower) instead of stretch or chatter in the large field.

Diana mounted her broom after a minute of walking, then murmured, "Tia freyre," and flew casually towards the tower. She passed Akko who sprinted with the riders flying beside her, a determined brow furrowed. _At least she's quite the runner, _Diana admitted to herself before flying ahead. Hannah and Barbara lagged behind, and she could only imagine what they were saying.

Within a few minutes, Akko's troubles with Hannah and Barbara were not at the forefront of her mind as she landed on New Moon tower's designated broom landing. Though she couldn't escape it; unsurprisingly, some were chattering about Akko's _running_ rather than _flying._ Diana paid no mind, leaning against the railing, and watched birds fly off in the distance.

She turned around once Amanda emerged from the tower, breath heavy and hands rubbing one another. Diana arched a brow and received a cheeky grin.

She wasn't the only one out-of-breath, Diana found. Akko came panting up the stairs, and Diana was mildly impressed for the time it took her to catch up. With a breath of finality, Akko stepped towards the platform and waited beside Diana. "Y-You're actually racing, Akko?" Diana heard another student ask.

She arched a brow while Diana continued keeping an eye out intensely. "Well, yeah, I am." Akko scowled as she heard brief whispers ("At least I won't be at last place...") and folded her arms.

The starting shot for the race clipped through the air. Curiously, Diana asked, "Did you learn how to fly already?"

Akko glanced towards her and scratched her shoulder. "Well... I mean, I practiced a bunch and stuff..."

Wangari's loud commentary interrupted their short conversation: "WHAT A WAY TO START THE RACE! THEIR BROOMS AREN'T TAKING OFF!"

"W-_What?_"

"How?"

Diana blinked in surprise. "CURRENTLY, FIRST PLACE BELONGS TO LOTTE YANSON!"

She narrowed her eyes and watched Akko closely. "Do _you_ know anything about this?" Akko shrugged, just as bewildered as everybody around her.

"AND TRAILING CLOSELY BEHIND LITTLE MISS FOUR-EYES IN CONSTANZE AMALIE VON BRAUNSCHBANK-ALBRECHTSBERGER! WOW THAT'S A MOUTHFUL! AH—uh...? Is that even...a broom...?"

She sighed and rubbed her temple. This race was not going smoothly, despite it being a good day. Diana watched Akko for a brief second. _Trouble always seems to follow her, doesn't it? _

Atsuko glanced at her, sending Diana to jerk her eyes away. She swallowed. "So—"

"WOW! CONSTANZE IS NOW PLAYING THE LEAD!"

"—what did you do to practice then?"

"Oh, well, I bungeed off this tower with my broom on my back," Akko answered nonchalantly.

Diana stared.

She wasn't kidding, was she?_ She's kidding._ Akko's eyes were back on her, a grin playing her lips. She noted the charming dimple that creased her cheek. _She's not kidding, _Diana determined. Playfully, she murmured, "Oh is that all?"

"Nope." Akko held out her hand and counted: "I bungeed off this tower, I shot myself out of a cannon, I was tied between Lotte and Sucy's brooms, and I jumped off of Sucy's broom with my broom...and..."

_Bloody fucking hell, Akko._

"BATON PASS-POINT, THE FIRST ONE TO ARRIVE IS MECHANIC-FANATIC CONSTANZE!"

Diana whipped her attention towards the second point. _What is taking so long, Hannah?! _

She fidgeted. A greed-full need blossomed in her chest. There was an itch. A rare, angry itch. She wanted to win. She wanted the wind to streak across her cheeks. She wanted to fly uncontrolled—no chains, no anything.

"THAT WAS A NICE PASS TO SUCY! AND DOMINATING FIRST PLACE IS THE FOOD-FIGHTER OF THE MAGIC WORLD, JASMINKA ANTONEKO! CALM AND COMPOSED AS EVER!"

Akko giggled beside her, and Diana frowned. "What's so funny?"

She shrugged and answered, "It's just, I don't know. It's entertaining."

Diana hummed. "I suppose..." she admitted.

"OH NO! WHAT HAPPENED?! JASMINKA IS GOING OFF-COURSE!"

"But what _is_ happening?!" Diana asked.

Akko could only shrug.

Both glance at Amanda as she crept into the tower, sly eyes wandering to the left and right. She sighed and gripped her broom. They shared a glance, and Akko asked, "And...what about her?"

"I...don't know, Akko. I don't think this is a normal race." Diana watched Akko for a moment. "Considering you still can't fly."

Akko only simpered hotly, arms crossed and cheek chewed.

All of the riders listened carefully for the announcements, the broom landing now near-silent with a couple conversations floating about. Abruptly, something whistled out of the tower, and only Akko and Diana seemed to have noticed. Akko frowned, once again just as suspicious as Diana was.

"Did you see—"

"THE POISONOUS MUSHROOM QUEE, SUCY, HAS JUMPED FAR AHEAD FROM ALL THE OTHER RACERS!"

"Wha— Oh! Sucy! Over here!" Akko jumped, waving her arms. Diana gawped as Sucy snickered, handing the baton over successfully.

_She...she..._

Akko chuckled, whipping out a potion (crafted by Sucy, Diana was sure) and poured it on the brush of the broom. It jerked to life, the end of her broom now a...leg?

_What the hell? _

Diana watched Sucy land on the ground below, now undoubtedly sure that she was the source of all the trouble—

Diana froze, then swiveled her head towards Akko who was now fucking-_hoppingoffofthetower. _

What.

The.

Hell.

Was.

Going.

On?!

"Disgraceful!" Diana snapped, "I'd hardly call that flying!" But, of course, how would one learn to fly by recklessly jumping off a tower with a rope?

"NEVER IN THE HISTORY OF LUNA NOVA CUP HAVE I SEEN AN ILLEGAL FROG JUMP! THIS IS SURE TO MAKE THE COMPETITION HOPPING MAD!"

Her jaw tensed, and Diana twisted around. "_God—!_ What's taking so long?!" Her heart pounded. Her gut twisted.

_Akko just might win this if— _

She smiled. Barbara, panicked, was racing around the bend. Her eager hands trembled with anticipation as she hopped on her broom, hovering forward as Barbara sped passed her.

But the baton was in her hands. "Finally..."

Diana surged forward with an insane determination, the wind crisp against her as she almost forced Barbara out of the air with her broom's intensity.

How long had time been wasted? It felt like only a few minutes, but she couldn't see Akko anywhere!

_Come on, come on_..._. _

Diana wanted to win desperately, she found. Not just fly, but she wanted to win. And it wasn't like she cared for a trophy or picture or Lukić's prize either.

"AND FINALLY DIANA CAVENDISH IS IN THE RACE!"

She sped forward, though her eyes danced around for Akko._ Where is she? How far did she make it?! _

Diana scowled, though she couldn't help but feel energized. A glee. This was a _race_, wasn't it? Her broom buzzed against her palms. This was a race and not some easy ride after all...

**— — — — — — — — — —**

"Ribbit."

Hopping on a broom was delightful, and a pleasant surprise considering entertainment value.

"Ribbit."

Despite not actually riding the broom properly, Akko laughed, hopping and hopping across the track.

"Ribbit."

And to think she was in first place.

"Ri—"

A gush of wind blasted past her, knocking her to the ground with its rattling ringing in her ears— _Wait a second. _

"Huh?" Akko peeled herself from the dirt and looked up. "Is that...?"

There was something zipping through the sky, a long chain trailing behind it. And it was coming right for her. With eyes wide, she raised her hand and briefly felt the chain rip through her palm before she snatched it. Immediately (and unsurprisingly), she was yanked off her feet and hoisted up in the air. With an excited smirk, Akko climbed the chain and pulled herself on the speeding broom. "I knew it! The Shooting Star! I actually found— _FUCKING—"_

She was bucked off, her hand still tight around the chain. "Oh no you don't!" she barked, sprinting after it. Akko clambered over the race course's stone obstacles and hurled herself back on the broom, her hands gripping the steel bars until her knuckles grew white. This time, she didn't fall off.

But she did do a loop or two (or five) in the air. And she plummeted through trees. And she crashed into a house. And she circled a plane. And— _Where the fuck was she going?_

"HEY YOU DUMB FUCKING—" The broom tossed and turned. "_ACK! _OKAY, OKAY! YOU'RE NOT DUMB! BUT COME ON!" Akko shouted. "WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE BACK TO THE RACE!"

Disgruntled, the broom steered its way towards Luna Nova's relay, just in time for an announcement: "AND FINALLY DIANA CAVENDISH IS IN THE RACE!"

Akko scowled. Though, she should have known better. It wouldn't have been long until Diana caught up. She cursed to herself as the broom spun, then yelped as a flock of birds were right in front of her. "Ah! Get out— GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

It was no use. The broom was set on its path, with or without Akko. She took a goose to the gut.

So...the broom decided against Akko.

She swore to the broom every name she could think of (_cunt_ being the most popular followed by _fuckin'_), the wind slapping all the nicks and scratches she gathered in the last however-many-minutes she was racing. Akko was about to unleash quite the motherload of obscenities when a firm hand caught her forearm. She blinked and looked up. "D-Diana?"

"You really have a sailor's mouth, don't you?" Diana grunted, easing Akko gently to the ground.

With light pink cheeks, Akko murmured, "Thanks, Diana."

Diana nodded and said, "My debt has been paid off."

"Debt...?"

"You're all scratched and bruised. You can go call the support team since it doesn't look like you'll be finishing the race without a broom," Diana continued. Without another word, she tore off, eager to get back to the relay.

"Broom... That's right!" She looked around her and grinned.

This patch of field was definitely familiar. Now where was that damn cannon... "Ah! There you are!"

She hurriedly rushed towards the trees and pushed the wheeled cannon furiously, aiming for the spaz-of-a-broom still spazzing about in the sky in a spasmic way. "Oh you're not getting away that easily!" she snapped, hurling herself into the cannon as it continued to roll forward. Covering her ears as best she could, Akko ignited the cannon's fuse with her wand and blasted herself to the sky.

With a devil's grin, she snatched the Shooting Star from the air and balled a fist around the chain. She tightened it around her waist, securing herself to the broom. If she was going to fall, it was going to fall with her. "A few scratches aren't going to scare me off!" she hissed. "I'm going to finish this race with you, whether you like it or not!"

The broom didn't object any further.

**— — — — — — — — — —**

She surpassed the racers, leaving them behind easily.

"DIANA THE COOL BEAUTY IS NOW IN THE LEAD OF THIS UNPREDICTABLE RACE! CAN SHE MANAGE TO HOLD ON?!"

Diana grinned to herself. So she was. And better yet, it was somewhat of an obstacle to manage. It wasn't served to her on a platter nor a path made easy for her. She did it. Not as a Cavendish. As _Diana..._

_BOOM!_

Hastily, she glanced over her shoulder. _Was that__...__a cannon? _She frowned.

"OH! SOMETHING'S COMING! COULD IT BE?!" Diana looked over her shoulder again and squinted. There was indeed something coming with fervent determination.

_Is tha__t...?__ Is that really—_

"AKKO'S ACTUALLY FLYING ON A BROOM!"

Diana's heart pounded erratically. "A-Akko?!"

She charged forward, her attention locked-on in front of her. Diana couldn't keep her eyes off of the finish line, especially since it was so close. She heard Akko trail behind her, and then Amanda's angry yells. Diana didn't listen to their arguing as she clipped the tops of the trees, all too eager to mind the branches with her energy focused solely on the checkered flags several long meters before her.

"IN THIRD PLACE IS THE DARK HORSE, THE REBELLIOUS AMANDA!" Diana was close enough to hear cheers of a crowd, kept to the side as they waited for the victor. "OH! AMANDA'S DISQUALIFIED! SHE FAILED THE BATON PASS! TOO BAD THIS WASN'T A DONUT-PASSING RELAY!"

Panicked at the sound of another broom, Diana briefly glanced to her side.

Akko.

Right there.

_Go. Go. Go, Diana!_ She grit her teeth and leaned forward, urging her broom to do the same. Its spirit was now determined, though Diana knew it had nothing on the Shooting Star. _How does she have that anyway?! What the hell is going on?!_

"WHAT A CRAZY TURN OF EVENTS! IT'S MONO-E-MONO BETWEEN DIANA AND AKKO! IT'S NECK-AND-NECK! THEY'RE CLOSING IN ON THE FINISH LINE!"

_Come on, come on, come on!_ both witches internally chorused. _I need more speed!_

Akko looped around Diana, barely able to control the Shooting Star. Her palms were sweating, and she nearly slipped. Something creaked and snapped, and Akko was jerked backwards. _The bolts. Where did they go? _She grunted and wriggled about as the chain unwrapped itself around her waist. Akko hissed before she was torn off, the metal bars abruptly snapping off.

"OH NO! AKKO FELL OFF!"

She could only watch as the Shooting Star unleashed its winged-brush, flying freely to the sky. Akko tumbled across the field, her skin burning and joints aching. _Diana's going to win__... _she briefly thought.

But in her eyes was only the Shooting Star. _Did it just want to be free__...__? Without chains holding it down?_

"DIANA'S GOING TO MAKE IT!"

Akko laid there, watching the sky in wonder. The race meant nothing now. What significance did it have compared to the Shooting Star, which soared to the clouds without any expectations or confinement?

"SHE— SHE...!"

**— — — — — — — — — —**

She did it.

Diana managed to beat Akko.

Her broom slammed to a halt before she could ram herself into the school, her feet stomping to the ground forcefully. Diana's breathing was heavy, and she wiped the bead of sweat dripping down her jaw. She tore off her hat and sighed, her wind-swept hair wild and victorious. _Now that was a race. _She turned around as a crowd began to gather by the finish line, several meters behind her. Diana chuckled softly, patting the wall of the school.

She really was close to bashing her head through bricks (and probably a bookcase).

Diana fixed her hair the best she could as she strolled towards where Akko fell, who remained spread-eagle on the ground. She hoped that the crowd would ease off for a minute. That was all Diana needed—a minute for Atsuko Kagari, the witch who couldn't fly but almost beat her on top of a broom.

Sucy and Lotte, who were at Akko's side, looked up. Diana halted at Akko's boots, and was able to lift her gaze from the sky. "Diana...? Oh." Akko blinked and put her head back on the dry patch of grass. "Did you win then?"

"I did," Diana confirmed.

"Did you come to gloat?" Akko asked, her voice detached.

Diana gave a soft chuckle, shaking her head. She knew Akko didn't think so either; her eyes were still glued to the sky in wonderment. "Actually," she said, reaching out your hand, "you gave me an eventful race." Akko widened her eyes in surprise, sitting up.

"Huh? Didn't you want to win?"

She took Diana's hand and got to her feet. "I didn't care, though I would be lying if I said I wasn't under the impression it would be easy." Akko blinked for a moment as Diana gripped her broom with both hands. "I'm glad I was mistaken." She turned around and left Akko to stare after her, transfixed, with Lotte and Sucy by her side.

"What...just happened?"

Lotte murmured, "I think she just thanked you."

"What?! _Really?!_"

"Yeah," Sucy added, "I think she just wanted a good race."

Akko hummed to herself and looked back up to the sky. _Is that so? _she asked herself.

Then she turned her attention to Diana, who was surrounded by excited fans; from what Akko could tell, she was expressionless once again, sunk back into her thoughts. Looking as perfect as ever. Where Akko had cuts and bruises littering her skin, Diana's hair was kept clean, skin unblemished like she barely took a step outside. _Did she just want__...__? _Atsuko frowned.

But with a small grin, a hand over her chest, Akko vowed to herself:_ I'm going to rough her up a bit more, if that's the case._

**— — — — — — — — — —**

Her frozen picture held a long, golden trophy in her hand with a broom in the other, both Hannah and Barbara grinning at her sides proudly. Diana stood on the other side of the glass, gazing at her picture, alone with the trophy case. Hannah and Barbara left nearly twenty minutes ago, eager to go to Avery's celebratory mini-party (which was planned a couple days prior).

Diana frowned. _Cavendish. _What a name. With everything that her family had put behind it—things that _were_ to be prideful of—she still could not escape. They expected her to win, and she did. Even going as far as planning days in advance.

_But Akko..._

Diana swallowed, her hand kept at the base of her neck, her other arm across her torso.

_What would've happened if she won? She was damn close, wasn't she? _Her eyes trailed off in thought. _She would've won if the brackets didn't fail on her._

With the steps wandering towards her, Diana paused her internal dialogue. Ursula came by the trophy case with a smile. "Congrats on winning," she said softly. Diana glanced at her with a polite smile of her own. "I really didn't expect Miss Kagari to come in second—considering her inexperience."

_Yes. She did come in second, didn't she? She was awarded that... _Diana couldn't resist the smile to deepen, her curiosity surrounding Akko consuming her. "I was surprised as well," she stated, backing away from the case. "At least she's not lacking in enthusiasm." That was what drove her to fly neck-and-neck with Diana, she knew. That alone.

Diana strolled off, enraptured. _If Akko actually had the ability, would she have__...?_She gave a relaxed breath. _Definitely. _Her smile faltered and she glanced at the floor sadly. _If only she wanted to learn _true_ magic, and not whatever Chariot conjured. Now that would be somethi__ng..._

**— — — — — — — — — —**

The headmistress' office was unusually dark that night with only a few candles to cradle the shadows. Miranda Holbrooke sat behind her desk, hands bundled together as a head rest. Professors stood around the room with folded arms.

Anne Finnelan was the only one who stood behind the desk, beside Headmistress Holbrooke. "And what do you propose we do, Miranda?" she asked quietly. "We searched Luna Nova top-to-bottom during their Winter Break, and we've found nothing that would house the creature that has been slaughtering the animals."

"We must keep searching," the old witch murmured. "It may be in the walls, or it may live in the forest after all."

Professor Pisces—a beautiful goldfish clad in a small hat—bubbled in her bowl.

"Yes, that is right... There does seem to be a pattern," Holbrooke said pointedly. She lifted her eyes towards the other professors. "Have anybody else noticed that these killings are largely of small mammals? And that the creature strikes a few times per month?"

Nelson rubbed her jaw and squeezed one eye shut. "Yeah... Except for December. Remember that? There were four, and we had to rework the entire schedule for exams so we could wait for the replacements to transfigure and metamorphosize."

Professor Finnelan nodded with a sigh. "I wish we would've found those before the students did. I don't want them to be fearful during their studies."

"Yes, I wish that too," Miranda admitted. "But, my biggest concern lies in its venom. Lukić? Have you determined its origins?"

"I'm afraid not, Headmistress. It's quite similar to many of my samples from animals in the Arcturus Forest, though none have the level of potency or toxicity as this." The witch paused, then added, "But I have found that it is acidic in nature. A base will dilute the venom, though none of mine completely neutralize it."

Holbrooke hummed. "I'm afraid we will have to scavenge the means to trap it. I worry about this monster, and how much it will cost to do so."

"And you have to consider if it even works effectively," Finnelan said pointedly.

Professor Badcock stepped forward with a thick book in her arms. As she swung it around to lay it flat on the desk, she knocked into an elbow. "Oh dear, excuse me, Ursula, I didn't mean it."

"It's okay, Professor," the young woman mumbled sheepishly, rubbing the sore joint.

"Now, I have researched some methods on my spare time, and I have found some possibilities in here."

"Are you suggesting a Containment Crystal, Samantha?" Anne asked, a hand on her hip as she leaned over.

Professor Badcock weighed her head side to side. "Yes, though I realize it would be quite the risk financially. They are hearty and will sustain a lot of damage, but it will attract all sorts of creatures if we are not careful."

Headmistress Holbrooke nodded. "I see. This is a very enticing option you have presented us. We may very well have to catch the creature this way."

"Thank-you, Miranda."

Collectively, the witches grew silent. A question hung in the air, one so foul and uncomfortable, they rocked in place or fidgeted. Nelson was the one to ask: "Does anybody have any clue as to what it is?"

"No... Not at all. That's why we're so...scared."

* * *

_Hope you enjoyed!_

_:)_


	5. Pt I - Try-Hard Witches

_Hope you enjoy!_

_:)_

* * *

**~ Blood of Magic ~**

**|Part 1|  
TRY-HARD WITCHES  
[Ep. #5/OVA(ish)]**

* * *

"Listen up, class!"

The professor tapped her wand on her podium, alerting everybody to the front fo the room. Even Akko was attentive (though, that wouldn't be a surprise after the first day of school when her head smacked against that desk). And a few rows above her sat Diana, feathered pen ready and notebook open. "For the rest of today, we will take a break from the Renaissance itself and discuss the research explored during this time. Much of what we know about our lesson today _comes_ from dedicated witches and wizards of the Renaissance who researched the magical world around them aside from chemistry and science in general.

"Because the textbook does not cover this to the extent I would want to, there will be no need for them." There was a collective sigh of relief. "Now, today we will be discussing a very mysterious type of witch—and warlock for the matter—that possess abilities that require no magical energy." Diana frowned, and her attention perked. "Not much is known about these witches, but it is important to know_ of_ them. Does...anybody have any clue of what I speak of?"

The professor studied the room.

"No one...?" No. Not even Diana.

She smiled. "Well then, that means there will be a lot of learning today." She flicked her wand and the blackboard behind her was brought to life with scriptures and Renaissance sketches of—what Diana assumed to be—the mysterious witch. "Girls, let me bring you back to the beginning. Da Vinci, who had extensively researched witches as well, wrote a little book called, _Magic is Man's Given_ _Fire_, when translated. There was a time when humans could not use magic, you see, until there were the first witches and warlocks born with magic inside of them...

"They needed no wands nor a Sorcerer's Stone to access magic. These witches are not witches at all. They're sorceresses." She paused and grinned. "Yes, Miss Cavendish?"

Diana stood and folded her hands behind her back. "Do they have any connections to Sorcerer's Stones? Besides not requiring them for magic... And I am assuming this is regardless if there is an abundance of magic to the world or not, Professor Karlyn?"

Professor Karlyn nodded. "Yes. The stones may have been named after them, I'm sure, and you are right to assume that." Diana nodded, said a brief thanks and sat down at her seat. She jotted down her notes as the professor continued: "Sorceresses are said to be supremely talented at magic, capable of doing the unthinkable."

"So like Diana?" Hannah asked. Diana swallowed and felt her cheeks warm softly as the class looked at her.

Karlyn chuckled quietly and said, "No, she's not, I'm afraid. But perhaps her talent does meet a sorceress' own. No. While there is not a lot known about sorceresses, one thing is for certain: they are extremely rare. One of several generations. One in a million.

"And there are objects, too, that are tied with sorceresses. For example—" sketches and images of several various items popped up on the blackboard— "this tapestry found in Russia. You see the dragons at the corners, and stones along the edges, surrounding the sorceress?" Diana studied the picture as did the rest of the class, though her attention drifted to the corner of the screen.

Her eyes widened.

The Claiomh Solais.

She paused in her notes, transfixed. Her gaze wandered towards Akko, who too gave the presentation all of her attention—or, at least, gave her attempts. Diana knew her mind was elsewhere.

Diana focused on the screen once again. Could this be it? Could this be what she was after? A piece of her own research served as an appetizer during class? In need of being further uncovered?

In her seat, Diana shook herself to attention and began to furiously write down every piece of information in her notes, organization and legibility be damned.

Sorceresses with great power and talent with magic...popping in and out of history...deciding magic's fate. Her curiosity grew to no end. Her efforts were not futile, but Diana knew very well she was not a sorceress. Yet... Her imagination worked with a fevered hunger.

Yet...she could _find_ one, yes? And bring magic back to the world? Bring a sorceress to see to it that magic was brought to its former glory? The Claiomh Solais—it was within her reach. So to open the Grand Triskellion wasn't some ignorant, naive dream.

She could do it.

Magic could exist to its true potential... After all these years, it really, really could...

As class was dismissed, she gathered her things quickly. "You two go and get to lunch, I'll be there."

"Okay," Hannah said.

Barbara added, "We'll save you a seat." The girls chuckled before they strode away, leaving Diana to walk towards Professor Karlyn.

"Ah, I figured you'd be quite intrigued by this lesson, Miss Cavendish."

"I am, yes," Diana admitted. "Do you know of any books in the library that tells more about sorceresses?"

Karlyn nodded, fixing her braid briefly. "I know there are some, in the C section, though I am not all that sure they touch more on what I have discussed in class today."

"Really?" asked Diana.

"Yes. Much of the research on sorceresses and sorcerers were burned at the end of the Golden Age of Magic... Perhaps you'll be able to read in between the lines?" Karlyn halted and added, "Well, actually, I have heard of some mythologies that may include sorceresses... I would not ignore that section of the library."

Diana nodded. "Thank-you, Professor. Is there anything about them to keep an eye of?"

Karlyn scratched her wrist in thought. "Well, every single myth and fable I've come across describes them as woman with red eyes... It makes me wonder if sorcerers are much rarer than sorceresses."

"Red eyes... Like Akko?" Diana asked, the Shiny Rod-wielder coming to mind.

"You mean Akko, a sorceress? No, no..." Karlyn shook her head. "No, I mean _red_ eyes. No brown, or hazel—blood red. And Akko's abilities, while she is quite determined and gives a lot of heart—I do admire that—, she is no sorceress."

Diana nodded. "I see. Well, thank-you, Professor. I will look into this."

Karlyn smiled as her student walked to the door. "No problem, Miss Cavendish. It's a pleasure knowing that _somebody_ takes meaning from my class."

**— — — — — — — — — —**

Diana laid in her bed, sound asleep.

_"Don't you go anywhere, okay honey?"_

The suite was silent, and the moonlight shone brightly through the large window. The spirit that resided in the girls' lanterns were cozied up together on the coffee table—not that an untrained eye would see them.

_Her smile was gentle and assuring. Her long, fluffy platinum and lime hair matched her daughter's, as did her gentle azure eyes. "Mummy's going to go and get some water, okay?"_

_Diana nodded with a small wand in her hand. She watched her mother stride back to their castle, playing with the hem of her dress on a wide patch-work blanket. The young child giggled as a dragonfly buzzed by._

She frowned, grunting lightly. There was a heavy weight in her chest. A solid ache.

_Closing her eyes, she gathered all of her focus, then watched a squirrel a couple of meters away. She flattened her dress and readjusted herself on her knees, determined. Diana raised her wand, and winced. Her hand tightened around the handle gingerly; she had scraped her palm the day before playing with her splintery broom._

_Even so, she said the incantation—just as her mother had taught her—to no avail._

_The squirrel was a squirrel. Nothing more. Nothing less._

Diana's fist curled, strangling the sheets with it. She groaned and shivered, chilled against her bed.

_Diana sat back down and set her wand to the side, dismayed. She watched the squirrel, who eyed her back innocently._

_If only Diana could focus properly. If only— "Enngh!" she groaned, clutching her chest. It had been the third day in a row, and even with all of her mother's attention, nothing came out of the healing spells._

_Diana gripped the blanket with teary eyes. "I can't do magic. I can't get better. I'm never going to be a witch," she cried softly. "Ow... Ow... Ow..."_

_The squirrel crept forward tentatively. It tilted its head to the side, thoroughly concerned. But when its gaze met hers, it froze._

_The pain was too much for the little girl. She watched the squirrel with one eye open, her aggravated thoughts urging her. She was hungry. Very, very hungry._

_Diana swallowed, and without warning, her body trembled._

_And then Diana was close to the ground, watching the squirrel at eye-level. She couldn't speak. She couldn't move her arms or legs. Just her spine. Diana lurched towards the squirrel, which bolted away to the tree line; she arched, enamored by her sudden mobility._

_She was fast. Faster than a horse, it felt like._

_"Diana!"_

The young witch was doused in a cold sweat, shivering into her pillow. "M-Mum..." she gasped in her sleep, clutching her sheets tightly as she curled around herself. "M-Mummy..."

_Diana whipped around at the sound of her name. Her mom's voice was different. Strange...but very welcome._

_The woman stood, eyes wide and a hand to her mouth. "Oh my god... By— By the Nines, I was sure it would be one of Daryl's girls..." She held herself and asked, "D-Diana? I-Is that you?"_

_Well, of course it was! Diana was right here!_

_She moved forward, eyes to her mother's beautiful eyes and lovely hair._

_"Oh my god," her mother breathed, eyes glassy. "I-I can't do this without you Henry... Our daughter..."_

"M-Mum..." Diana whimpered, teeth tightly pressed together as the tension between her shoulders exploded across her body. Every joint—every bone—was on fire.

_"H-Honey, Diana, listen to me..." _

_Her daughter desperately wished to ease her mother's pain, wipe away the worried lines that had carved themselves into her face. Diana moved forward eagerly. Her mother needed her. She did. She _needed_ Diana._

_"No— No! Don't do that!"_

_Diana halted and cradled herself. "Listen to me, sweetie. Calm down... Just...just calm yourself and try to...to undo what you just did..."_

Her eyes flew open. Agony tormented her jaw and throat. Diana clutched her jugular, gasping for air. "N-No..." she grunted. "No, n-not tonight..." Sweat streaked from her jaw and pooled onto her pillow.

She fought the ache and tension slithering within her body, ravenous.

_"Diana... Listen..." Her mother patted the blanket as she crouched down. "Don't move," she said gently, "just undo... Can you do that?" Diana lowered herself. "There we go...come on...you can do it."_

_She felt herself unravel—or, rather, collect herself once more._

Mummy?_ she thought as her joints crackled and muscles buzzed. _Why is Mummy sad?_ Diana looked up to her mother. "Mummy," she asked, "did I do something wrong?"_

_"N-No sweetie... No, it was out of your control. I'm just...at a loss, dear."_

Diana cried out, a spear of pain slicing her back in half.

_"Mummy, what happened?"_

_"Nothing you need to worry about now."_

She choked on her own whimper, a warm serum oozing from her mouth. It blended within the shadows, evading Diana's erratic mind.

_"But Mummy?"_

_"Not now, dear."_

Diana writhed within her sheets, snapping and cracking at the joints.

_"Why don't we have some tea?" her mother soothed. "You worked so hard on your magic today."_

_"Okay..."_

Her weight thumped against the floor in a heap. And...all was still. As silent as before, with the crescent moon shining brightly into the suite.

Diana then roamed across the room to stalk the halls. Mindless.

**— — — — — — — — — —**

She groaned and sat up in her bed, groggy. Hannah blinked into the room as the suite's door closed. "D-Diana...?" she yawned. "Is that...you?"

No answer.

Hannah looked around, utterly confused with her vivid dream—of a fiery American on her broom, charismatic grin and all—interrupting her train of thought unevenly. She wasn't necessarily a _heavy_ sleeper, but Hannah seldom ever woke up in the middle of the night for no foreseeable reason. Not even for water, or for the bathroom.

_Did Diana leave?_

Hannah yawned, slipped out of her bed and stepped over to Barbara's. She hovered over her best friend, the floor ice-cold underneath her bare feet. Her brain was sluggish—incapable of conducting her to tap Barbara on the shoulder.

So she swayed and waited in place, blinking in the dark.

After several minutes, with Hannah staring adamantly, Barbara stirred and glanced over her shoulder. "_Jesus fucking—_ Fuck..." she husked, brows furrowed and eyes shut closed as she burrowed her head into her pillow. "What is it, Hannah?"

"Did you see Diana leave?"

"No," Barbara grumbled sleepily. "It was probably important. She probably had an errand for Finnelan or something..."

"Hmm."

The pair remained quiet for a stretch of time—something that they had no concept of at that moment.

"Hannah..."

"Yuh?"

"Why are you standing there? Shut up and fuck off."

"You talked to me..."

"You're the one out of _bed._"

"Oh yeah." Hannah blinked, plucked Barbara's bedding and slipped underneath, immediately settling against her friend. She purred quietly with her arms curled around Barbara's waist.

Barbara grumbled, tugging the blanket to her shoulder. "Why are you in my bed now?"

"Mine's cold..."

"So?"

Hannah nestled against the crook of Barbara's neck. "You're the one who usually steals my bed..." she murmured.

There was a silence of consideration.

"...fine."

And so the pair slept soundlessly, unaware of Diana's trouble. Oblivious to what the morning would bring.

**— — — — — — — — — —**

Diana groaned and blinked herself awake.

The sun was barely up, a sliver peeking over the trees to clip the suite's furniture with a light, purple and orange haze.

She grasped her temple and tried to swallow. She gagged instead. Diana lurched upright with a horrid cough.

Diana wrenched herself out of bed and swerved to the bathroom, then slammed the door behind her. With the lights on, Diana stood at the mirror and clutched the sink.

_No... Not again... Not again..._

She choked and heaved into the sink; strands of watery pink escaped her. Diana opened wide and forced her finger to the back of her tongue. She gagged violently, and a clumped mass shifted in her throat.

Over and over again, she demanded her body to vomit. It had to get out. She had to be free of it. The grip on the sink with her free hand was almost enough to shatter the ceramic.

With a final retch, Diana sprayed blood and tissue into the bowl through coughs, with a ball of bone and feathers in the center. Its blood coated the inside of her mouth, and she despised how her body reveled in the taste.

Shaken, Diana scooped the remains and stuffed it into the trash bin, then washed the rest down the drain. Nauseously, she sat at the edge of the bath, her head resting on her wrist because God forbid she touched the blood that coated her fingertips.

She mourned, she planned. For the animal, for the next few days.

Diana couldn't bear leave the poor thing in the trash bin like that, if not for her own morality's sake or the dignity of the critter, for Hannah and Barbara before they would find her monstrosity.

She clenched her jaw and closed her eyes.

"Mum..." Diana whimpered to herself. "Mum... I'm so sorry."

**— — — — — — — — — —**

Akko gathered all the necessary ingredients as listed on the blackboard in the lab room—and then some of her own. As she picked the pickled plum jar from the circular table, she saw the violet team walk towards Lukić, their heavy hearts obvious from across the room. As they began to converse with the professor worriedly, Akko asked, "Hey...what's going on with them?"

Sucy shrugged and glanced at the corner of the room. "Oh, the bird they found in the courtyard's gone."

"The one with the broken wing?"

She nodded. Lotte sighed and asked, "You didn't hear? Wangari was talking about it when we came out." Akko shook her head. "Apparently, the cage was found empty."

"With blood and feathers everywhere." Sucy grinned satanically. "They even found a foot in its bedding."

"_Sucy_, not right now! That's horrible," Lotte hissed. Akko grew somber and watched the violet team stride away, the students of nearby tables just as quiet and solemn as they were.

Even Diana paused during her work as Hannah asked her, "My god—it's the same thing as last semester, isn't it?"

Diana answered, hollowly, "I don't know."

Barbara asked, "Who would do something like that?! It couldn't even fly..."

"I don't know," Diana replied with her voice distant. "Just...come on, you two. We must get this done. We can think about the poor bird later." They nodded and set to work.

Akko followed suit and said, "Well, nothing is better than pickled plums. Why don't we cheer ourselves up with it?" Vigorously, she began to mix her ingredients and immediately the mixture began to swell uncontrollably. And like her painful zit the few nights before, it popped. She blinked as sweet, delicious sludge coated her face.

"Why do you keep wasting ingredients?" Sucy asked.

"Yeah," Lotte agreed, "it never works because you're adding the wrong things."

Sucy scraped some off her cheek and tasted it. "It's not bad though," she murmured quietly.

"Yeah, see?! That's how you get it to taste good."

Lotte sighed. "Just go clean yourself up, Akko. We can try it again in a few minutes."

Akko relented and picked up a towel (which Sucy had brought over before, knowingly). As she began to clean herself up, the room sprung with giggles and the familiar tittering about her. Though, everything felt a lot lighter now, instead of the mournful for the murdered bird; Akko took her comeuppance with grace. Even though Sucy was the only one to taste some of the pickled plums, at least her concoction _did_ cheer people up.

Her table, in unison, turned towards the sound of a blender. Akko blinked, rubbing the last of the goop away, as Constanze poured her mixture into a cup and slid it into an oven. "Hey...wait a minute, that doesn't look witchy at all."

The rest of the green team glanced at her. Amanda continued to lean back in her chair and Jasminka chomped away at her chips. "Look who's talking," Sucy muttered. The green team couldn't help but agree.

Jasminka, however, offered a chip. "Want some? Fluffy flavor," she said.

"Come on, Jasminka. We have to take this class seriously."

Amanda snorted, unceasingly rocking in her chair. She didn't even open her eyes. "Oh, who needs to take this class seriously? It's an elective, for one thing, and it's too easy. For everyone but you, anyway."

"And what do you mean by _that?_" Akko hissed.

"It's not like you can keep up like the rest of us. So why do you even try?" Akko scowled. "You can't even ride a broom."

"Maybe you're the one who can't keep up!"

"Wow, good one... You yap like an annoying dog. One of those fuckin' purse ones..."

Akko folded her arms and retorted, "You're just pissed that I beat you in the race even if I can't fly."

That got to Amanda. She stopped in her rocking and finally opened her eyes. "That wasn't you. That was the broom. And you still fell off it like some dumbfuck anyway."

"Oh, what did you say?!" Akko snapped, grabbing Amanda's legs and tossing her backwards in her seat.

Snarling, "What the hell was that?!" Amanda then got to her feet.

"Didn't your mum every teach you to not rock backwards in your seat?"

"My _mom_ didn't— You have no right speaking about her!" Amanda stood toe-to-toe with Akko, her teeth bared. "Did your mom tell you not to knock someone's ass off their chair like that?!"

"No."

Amanda paused. "You stupid ho."

"What?!"

"Yeah, always trying to do stuff even though you can't! Fuckin' try-hard!"

"Try-hard?!"

Lotte grimaced, realizing she _should_ have intervened sooner. "A-Akko...Amanda, please...not now."

Her pleading fell onto deaf ears. Akko shoved Amanda's shoulders and said, "You're the try-hard getting your ass handed to you in the race!"

Amanda shoved her back, and their exchange quickly turned into a small shoving match. "Me a try-hard? You're kidding!"

As they bickered, stumbling around the table, the class grew quiet as one-by-one all witches watched their petty fight. And soon enough, Akko was knocked against the table, tossing the cauldron onto other ingredients.

The effect was explosive. The room was suddenly filled with surprised screams and shrapnel.

"Scrylla!"

Everything paused, hanging in the air. Amanda and Akko blinked in confusion.

Diana brought her hands with her wand together and said, "Yera retoure!" The shrapnel flew back to its original place, as if no Akko was shoved against a table.

Diana set her wand back to her hip and eyed the girls, unimpressed. As Hannah and Barbara fawned over Diana, she said, "Excuse me, could the two of you please stop disrupting the class with your barbaric fight? We already had a slow start as it is. And it's frankly _irritating._"

"Uh?!"

"Yeah," Amanda scoffed. "Who are you calling 'barbaric?'"

"BE—" Akko and Amanda felt someone grab their heads— "QUIET!" With swift force, their heads were clacked together, and they sank to the ground, groaning and clutching their ringing ears. Uneasily, the two looked up to find Lukić. "It sounds like the two of you need to be disciplined. Perhaps a punishment that makes your blood dry up?" She began to cackle, adding to their panic.

Diana sighed. "And perhaps when you do whatever menial task you're given, you can decide which one of you is the most 'try-hard.'" Hannah and Barbara chortled, sticking their tongues out.

Both Akko and Amanda—discreetly, with the professor blindly hovering over them—flipped them off.

**— — — — — — — — — —**

Akko furiously scrubbed the side of New Moon tower, cleaning off the grime to add a nice sheen. As she rubbed a particularly difficult patch of dirt off, she grumbled, "Diana really gets on my nerves. Acting all cool 'cause she can use _magic_."

Amanda, who was sweeping the floor casually aside from her random juts of irritation, agreed: "Right though? She always has that stuck-up attitude," then mocking, "just because she's from some 'famous witch family.'"

A dirty rag was sopped into a water bucket before Akko continued to clean the wall. "And telling _us_ to see who's the biggest try-hard? She's such a hypocrite. It's obviously her!"

Amanda arched a brow and paused. "What do you mean?"

"She acts all perfect, but that's impossible!" Akko explained in between scrubs. "Nobody is perfect! It's just because she's a _Cavendish__!_ 'We pride ourselves on our prestigious line of tradition...'" Amanda nodded once and swept the soda can back-and-forth with vigor. "Bitch _please_, we all know you don't believe in craggily old witches!"

"Yeah!"

"With her fucking perfect body and hair."

"Okay," Amanda halted again and turned towards Akko. "Now _what?_"

Atsuko stopped and looked back. "What? Are you telling me she always has to have good-hair days? Who is she trying to impress anyway?!"

"That is true. _God_, she has no right giving us shit for being try-hards!" Amanda exclaimed, furiously sweeping the can.

In unison, both snapped, "I'd like to give her a piece of my mind!" Akko threw the rag into the bucket whereas Amanda sent the can soaring through the air.

Akko glared at Amanda. "H-_Hey!_ Have you just been slacking off?!"

"What?"

"You're supposed to be helping me!"

Amanda folded her arms and asked, "And what are you going to do about it?" The instant she finished her sentence, Amanda was smacked with a wet, soggy rag right to the face. She scowled and tore it off. Once spitting to the ground and wiping her mouth, Amanda snapped, "Oh you fucking bitch!"

"That's what you get for— _You little—!_" Akko staggered forward after Amanda had thrown her broom. And in retaliation, Akko threw _herself_ at the other witch.

Amanda dodged the first swing she sent, though not the second. Amanda grunted and ran into the wall, wet grime coating her cheek. With a growl, she shoved herself off of it.

Their shoes scraped against the concrete as they continued to brawl, hands snagged on their shirts and fists jabbing through the air to clip their jaws. She clenched her teeth, not expecting Akko to be so quick and _strong_. The latter was the most surprising as Atsuko was very lean and almost a head shorter than Amanda.

Despite how weak Amanda thought Akko was beforehand, she was getting her ass beat.

Knocked to the ground, Amanda grunted upon the hard landing. "What the hell!?" she snapped, her calf stinging where Akko had hooked her leg around, promptly shoving her thereafter. Akko stood at her feet, arms crossed. "Where the hell did you learn to fight dirty like that?" Amanda asked, oddly impressed.

"My dad," Akko answered. "It's karate, but I've always had my own little spins to it."

Amanda got to her feet once Akko offered her hand, helping her. "What else did you do?"

"Let's see... He made me do these little things constantly, but I was in gymnastics and track too."

Amanda whistled. "I've only done broom dancing and got into fights at school," she said. She laughed and added, "I haven't lost a fight since elementary, and I really didn't expect it to be from _you_ of all people."

"You think I won?" Amanda hesitantly nodded. Akko smirked. "Does that mean you're the try-hard?"

"_No_, it doesn't."

"Really...? 'Cause I actually won without trying _that_ hard."

Amanda narrowed her eyes. "Oh, okay hotshot." She rolled up her sleeves. "Let's see how you handle _this—_" She paused with her fist hanging in the air and Akko with her arms up, bracing. Amanda frowned, her ears pounding.

_That wasn't just me, was it? _

She eyed Akko in confusion, then she flicked her eyes to the side, away from the tower's overhang.

Akko blinked back, puzzled herself. "What are you...?"

_Apparently I'm an idiot. _But she tensed. _Wait, there it is again. _Amanda looked up, dropping her fist as she heard another flutter of...wings was it? And by the look of Akko, she knew she heard it too. "It sounds like..."

"A bird?"

Amanda strode forward, picking up her broom. "No..." she murmured, the sound now louder and more continuous. "It sounds _bigger_. And heavi—" She stood outside and her eyes widened.

"Holy shit."

Yes, the source of the noise was much bigger and heavier than a bird. _And_ more than _a_ single bird as she counted five. They were flying in a group, their green scales glimmering in the evening sun, towards the height of the tower.

"Holy shit. Holy _shit_," she repeated. _Dragons. _"What the fuck?!"

"What?" Akko asked, quickly joining her side. She too looked up. "What the fuck?" she echoed.

Amanda's heart jolted. The way the dragons suddenly halted and grappled to the wall as soon as Akko set foot into the open did not sit well with her. They turned to the girls, their glinting eyes hungry. "A-Akko..." Amanda stuttered, throwing her arm out. "I don't like the looks of this." They scaled down the wall for a few steps, crooning.

"I don't either... What do we do?"

"I don't—"

The dragons launched themselves off the tower and barreled to the ground. "_RUN!_"

Both Akko and Amanda sprinted towards the school, only to have a dragon get in their way. They staggered away from its snapping jaws, its eyes set on Akko in particular. The dragon continued to croon, hungry for her and her alone.

And as they bolted to the side, that observation was more apparent. "Akko! Watch out, they're after you!" Amanda hollered. She gasped as two—no, _three_—dragons swooped over Akko's head, attempting to snatch her by the shoulders.

Akko ducked before stumbling into a roll, another dragon slamming into the earth right beside her. "Hey!" Amanda shouted, brandishing her broom. "Get away you fucking shit!"

She jabbed the metal handle into the dragon's nostril, and it shrieked, jerking away violently. Its movements proved to be too frantic, however, as the broom handle tore the cartilage in between the nostrils. It howled in agony as the broom snapped, the handle barely hanging on, before Amanda hoisted Akko to her feet.

"Wait, _Amanda! _Your broom, we can just fly!" Akko shouted.

Amanda blinked and stared at her broom. "I'm such a retard."

She hopped on and hoped that it wasn't too damaged for it to collect magic. "Come on!" Akko nodded and got on whilst she hurled a handful of dirt into a dragon's eyes. "Tia freyre!" Amanda shouted, and after a second of delay (which heightened her worry), they lifted off.

As they zipped overtop the trees, Amanda glanced at the handle. It didn't show any signs of magical energy, though considering that they were _flying_, she assumed it just needed fixing.

Akko's grip around her waist tightened, and Amanda heard her wince. "You okay there?"

"Y-yes... Just go and fly," Akko mumbled. The sensation in her chest. The one she felt in the ley-line—so cold and sharp—was back. Akko groaned with Amanda's sudden jerk to the side, narrowly avoiding a bite. She had forgotten about the cruel sensation.

Except, now she felt her energy being drained from underneath her, which forced her nausea from her throat to her stomach continuously as it ached along with her chest, then her diaphragm, then her back, her throat, her head.

"Oh god," she wheezed, her grip loosening.

"Akko..." Amanda muttered slowly, anxiety tinting her voice. "Don't you fall off... We're almost, _God damn it!_"

Once again, a dragon foiled their plan to dash towards the school, swooping in their way. Deciding she was through with that shit, Amanda raised her wand and dazzling light blinded them. She forced her own gaze down as the dragons screamed.

"Wait—! A-AKKO!"

As she had done so, she watched Akko plummet, whose head spun and shattered to black. And the further she dropped, the more her broom ceased to fly, dooming her to fall as well.

Amanda yelped. She covered her head as she crashed through the trees. Leaves and twigs and who _knew_ what stung all the way down.

And with a sickening pop, Amanda landed on a thick branch against the truck of the tree as her broom rattled back-and-forth in between the leaves, finally landing on the ground a second later. "O-Ow..." she grimaced shakily. Amanda slowly sat up, hand steady on the tree as she made sure that _no_, her back was not broken. She gasped for air, though, the wind having been knocked out of her for certain.

Pale teal eyes drifted up to the sky, watching shadows blitz away from between the leaves. Amanda grinned. _So they don't know where we are__..._She sighed and murmured, "What a relief." _Although__..._Her panic returned as she looked around, eyes darting across what she could see from the ground. _Where's Akko? _

Gingerly, Amanda clambered down the tree and picked up her broom, the handle still clung by a chunk of wood. She thought it would've snapped off by that point. "Akko?" she called out. "Akko?! Please don't be dead!"

As she paced around, Amanda heard a weak, "I'm...not..."

"Akko?"

Amanda charged towards the noise. She found Akko curled up in the ground, clutching her side. The witch propped herself up with her other arm, her face contorted into a deep wince. "Akko are you— Are you hurt?" She saw the drops of blood that littered the ground.

"No..." Atsuko grunted, wiping her lips.

Her hand was smeared with blood, and Amanda realized Akko was bleeding from the mouth. She made to step forward though backed nervously away as Akko coughed, droplets spraying. The hand that clutched her side now gripped her chest.

Amanda got to her knees beside Akko realizing that _no_, she wasn't bleeding from the mouth but internally—from the chest. She hoped to God it wasn't her lungs. Or anything, really, but especially her lungs or her heart. "I'm fine, really," Akko assured, wiping her mouth again. "I've had this happen before."

Amanda gawked. "Coughing up _blood?!_"

Akko nodded, rubbing her chest. The cruel sensation was seeping away. "Yeah. It helps the pain, actually."

"What pain?"

"I don't know what it is exactly," she said, tapping between her collar bones, "but it's here... Sometimes I get this weird pain in my chest. I actually got it when I came here in the ley-line, but I don't think I bled, though. Well, actually, I did, but it wasn't that bad."

"Fucking Christ, Akko. What the hell are you doing being a fucking try-hard with a condition like that?"

Akko glared at Amanda. "Oh don't start that up again."

Amanda chuckled as Akko eased herself against a tree. "Seriously, though. You're not supposed to be internally bleeding like that."

"I know... I know... But I'm good now, right?"

Amanda's eyes were pitiful. After all, Akko was laying there, weak against the trunk of a tree, barely able to get to her feet at that point. "Uh...we'll check on that."

With Akko watching her, Amanda fixed her broom with her wand. "That was weird though, with my broom?" She patted the handle as magic began to regenerate on its meter. "I originally thought it wouldn't take off because that was busted," she said, gesturing towards the meter, "but we flew... Though it didn't last long, so I guess I was kind of right at first."

"Yeah..." Akko mumbled. Shadows darted above them, and they kept quiet. After a minute, Akko said, "Well, I guess we can rest here and then try running for it. Or if your broom is fine, fly."

Amanda nodded in agreement.

**— — — — — — — — — —**

Tall double doors flew open, thrashing against the wall as Akko and Amanda barged through the very confused crowd of students. Their peers wondered why the _hell_ Amanda and Akko were coated in leaves, muck, twigs, their uniforms torn (and why Amanda had the bonus grime on her cheek). But, furthermore, they were apalled by the insane gleam in their eyes, which darted about frantically. Their classmates stared as they continued to bolt down the hall, weaving around obstacles precariously.

"Where's the headmistress?!" Amanda yelled, swinging her broom about like her hand had a mind of its own. "Anybody?! Just point us to her!"

Akko slammed on her heels and grabbed a terrified third-year by the vest, yanking the tall girl down to her eye-level. "We need her right now! Where is she?!" Akko hissed into her face.

The blonde growled, slapping her hands away. "Go check her office if you're in such a hurry!"

"I'm trying to _save_ your fucking ass!" Akko barked, as Amanda snatched her shoulder. "You could at least be grateful!"

The third-year, to say the least, gawped and eyed her friends, tight lipped.

In unison, Akko and Amanda charged down the hall and turned the corner. "Headmistress!" Akko called. "Headmistress, Headmistress! Head— _ACK!_"

She barely had time to stop before she was slammed into another student, the world a blur for a few moments. She groaned which was echoed by a few grunts and wheezes. When she opened her eyes, the ceiling momentarily circled around her before she blinked.

"Ow..." Akko moaned weakly, picking herself up.

She stared at the ground in confusion, then her eyes widened. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry, Diana!"

Diana, disgruntled, nodded slowly with her jaw tense and got to her feet. As Amanda and Barbara got up too, she snapped, "Why were you running in the halls?!"

"Well, we— Professor Finnelan!" Akko sprinted away from Diana, followed by Amanda, leaving her quite confused.

Diana turned towards Akko, Amanda and the professor, locked in an urgent conversation. "Professor," she heard Akko say, "we were cleaning the tower and there's dragons!"

"Five of them!" Amanda added, her arms stretched out. "Huge ones and they were after the Sorcerer's Stone!" Hannah and Barbara gasped behind Diana. For a reason to be running recklessly down the halls, Diana could admit that it was a very good one. "But they attacked us before they got to it and now they won't leave us alone! We tried getting out from under the trees twice, and we were barely able to sneak past them the third time!"

And now their reason was just that more understandable.

"Dragons? At Luna Nova?" Anne arched a brow and asked, "Where are—"

Horrifying wails erupted from the distance, halting her question. She blinked and nodded. "I see. Thank-you both for alerting me on this. Go and stay inside for now, okay girls?"

"Gladly," Amanda answered.

Akko said with a polite bow, "Thank-you, Professor." They watched Finnelan walk briskly away before hearing the blue team stride towards them.

Hannah held Amanda's broom out and said, "You dropped it."

"Oh, right," Amanda said as she took it. "Thanks." Hannah nodded, then followed Diana towards the library.

Akko sighed and leaned against a wall. "I'm so tired..." she murmured suddenly.

Amanda nodded. "Me too."

As they circled around the hall, Finnelan was nearly trampled by Ursula carrying several dozens of books all at once. "Goodness! Why do you feel the need to exert yourself like that?"

"Because I have to milk my youth when I can," Ursula replied cheekily. "I'll someday have to take a break or two like you."

Anne rolled her eyes. _Typical... _She shook her head then said, "Never mind that. You need to get to the pantry in the kitchens. _Now_."

"What? But you said I had to—"

"I don't care what I said thirty minutes ago, Ch— Ursula!" Finnelan snapped. "I'm telling you now! There are dragons outside hovering over the school, and you cannot be near the windows!"

Ursula grew serious on the flip of a dime. She nodded slowly and murmured, "Alright... I will. Thank-you for telling me. I expect you're going to tell Miranda?"

"Immediately."

**— — — — — — — — — —**

It turned out Akko and Amanda were more alike than they thought. For example, they paced when they got particularly nervous. Which they were doing in the middle of a hall, the rest of the red and green teams clustered around them. The difference was that Akko ranted while Amanda kept deathly silent.

"And— And... I don't know! I fell off the broom, and they couldn't find us but I don't know why they attacked _me_ anyway, they should've attacked Amanda because she was the one who noticed them first and stepped outside before I did, but _no,_ they were interested in me! I never did anything!"

Sucy sighed and said, "Well, you do a lot of things. Maybe this is a bunch of karma bundled up."

Akko halted and snapped, loudly, "I NEVER DID ANYTHING TO THEM, SUCY!"

Sucy blinked, not expecting that volume of a reaction. The ceiling then creaked, something else nobody expected.

Lotte said, worried, "A-Akko... I think you should keep your voice down."

"Uh...y-yeah..." Akko mumbled, staring upwards. There was a terrifying roar on the outside of the building.

Amanda tensed. "Oh shit. They found you again."

...maybe Akko should take on Amanda's silent pacing, huh?

Quickly, Sucy whipped her wand out and began to cover the windows with a black mist; though with the length of the glass and the multitude of them, it was a job that took precious time.

Luckily, however, she had help. "Diana?" Akko asked curiously.

As Diana offered her helping hand, Hannah and Barbara by her side, she said, "You know, if you ever are being chased by dragons Akko, I wouldn't make a racket!"

"I didn't mean to! Sucy—"

The doors shuddered aggressively, sending her backwards several meters within a second. Atsuko clutched the wall, her eyes wide as the door continuously shuddered. The lock and hinges creaked.

"Run! They're going to break in!" she yelped before bolting down the corridor. The rest of the teams didn't hesitate. And not a couple of seconds later, the doors were busted down, screaming dragons storming precariously down the halls.

It took all their energy to keep up with Akko. Diana asked Amanda, as their strides and speeds matched, "Why are they chasing Akko? Do they go after anybody else too?"

Amanda shook her head. "No! It must be because Akko's such a fucking try-hard!"

"Would you quit with that, you dumbass?!" Akko snapped.

Diana nodded, ignoring Akko's comment, and thought. She turned to Amanda before jerking at the sound of the dragons, all of whom tore through the decor that hung on the walls. Diana didn't look back, however—she resisted that temptation.

"Why don't the others hide ,and we keep running with Akko?!"

"Why us?!" Amanda asked.

"Because we're the only ones able to keep up!" Indeed they were. Even though the rest were right behind them, they would slow down soon. Diana yelled over her shoulder, "You all get into a classroom as fast as you can! The dragons aren't after you!"

"O-Okay!" Lotte replied.

"We will!" Hannah and Barbara whimpered in unison.

They turned the corner, and at the very next door, the rest of the blue, red and green teams all swarmed inside a classroom—profusely apologizing once realizing that a second-year class was in progress. Though, once the dragons thundered down the halls, Lukić didn't have their heads.

Akko, Amanda and Diana surged forward with energy they didn't know they had. They were closing in at an end of a hallway with double doors leading outside—a dead end—and the other two down vaulted corridors.

The dragons, too, were closing in on their target.

"Which way Akko?!" Diana asked hurriedly.

"L— Right! Right, I'm going right!" Akko announced. And as promised, she went right with Diana and Amanda tailing her.

However, Akko found herself nearly running over Professor Finnelan, with Diana and Amanda quick to toppled over her. They all yelped in unison, Anne backing away as her students tumbled down in a pile.

"We'll take care of this now, girls," Anne said.

At once, the dozen of professors that had been hiding in the hallway jumped out and yelled an incantation none of the three—with their worlds spinning with stars and all—didn't recognize.

The dragons halted at the surprise and were immediately met with magical blades through their eyes and mouth. They wailed until plopping to heaps of lifeless hills. Akko glanced from around the corner and grimaced; the one that Amanda injured was unrecognizable.

They all stepped out and met the professors with exhausted breaths. "I'm sorry you all had to see that, though dragons cannot be penetrated by magic through their scales," Miranda said sorrowfully. "But thank-you for your efforts. You all may be excused from any classes you would have had for tomorrow. Including the rest of your teams, as I assume accompanied you as well."

Akko blinked and Amanda sighed happily. Diana answered, for the two of them as well, "Thank-you, Headmistress Holbrooke. It's greatly appreciated."

Miranda nodded. "Now, go along to your dorms. We'll take care of this matter on our own."

The trio obliged and slowly departed. With Diana in front, Amanda said, "Well...I didn't realize they were _that_ easy to take care of."

"Yeah... I kinda feel dumb for running all that now," Akko replied.

Diana sighed and said, "Don't be. They haven't taught us how to fight dragons, and not many people know that their scales are resilient to magic."

"Did you though?"

"Yes, I did. That's why I didn't try and do anything before." She then admitted, "I never really knew that incantation... Did either of you hear it well?" Akko and Amanda shook their heads as Diana turned around. "Well then, I will get to my dorm once we find the rest of our teams. I'd advise you two to just keep to your dorms."

"But what about food?"

Diana did something that truly spooked both Amanda and Akko: she chuckled softly. "I can arrange some of the fairies to bring you some, Akko. Amanda, since you weren't the one the dragons were chasing, I believe it'll be fine for you to go and eat."

"True..." Amanda muttered.

Diana nodded. "Now, with that, I'll be off." She strode away, leaving Akko and Amanda standing there, quiet.

Once she was completely out of their line of sight, Akko mumbled, "Why does she always know everything we don't?"

"Yeah...but..."

"Yeah, I know. She did help a lot," Akko said. She snorted, then laughed, "And she was encouraging us to run in the halls too."

Amanda laughed as well, and they began to stroll towards wherever they left their teams behind; they really didn't remember which room after panicking as much as they did.

**— — — — — — — — — —**

Diana scowled and glared at the books laid out in front of her.

She didn't usually get so irritated by literature; though just as Professor Karlyn had said, there was nothing new in the five huge books she managed to get her hands on. It was the most she could do for the night, given the extremes of excitement the day had given her. She tapped her feathered pen at the corner of her journal. _But there is something to them..._ she thought. _Sorceress...that's the key, isn't it? A sorceress._

Diana sighed and set down her pen. At least she had all the free time the next day. And she needed sleep. That was it. It wasn't like she had gotten any the night before...

**— — — — — — — — — —**

It was easy settling down after such a tiring day. Of...dragons. (Which, the more Akko thought whilst twirling the Shiny Rod on her bed, the whole dragons-attacking-Luna-Nova-but-actually-Akko spiel was confusingly underwhelming and had little to no precedent in _anything else._ Perhaps it was a sign that Akko wasn't a favorite...)

Lotte was snuggled up with a Nightfall book, Sucy with her potions, and Akko resting in her bed (and thinking about how and why the _fuck_ nobody else cared that dragons were at the school trying to _attack her—_even the damn third-year she nearly strangled!). She stared at her Shiny Chariot poster, wondering. "I heard that all classes were inside for the rest of this week?"

"Yeah. Which means our exam on fly is pushed back, something you needed."

Akko didn't have the energy to bicker with Sucy. Instead, she stretched. "And what was that Wangari was saying about a dungeon class?"

"Oh yeah," Lotte said, "that's underneath the Labyrinth Tower. There's a tunnel that connects the campus to it, and it's supposed to be really big." She smiled and paused in her reading. "I'm kind of excited for it. I've never been in there. But I don't know how good I'll do..."

"Well if we all do it, we should be good," Akko said.

"Yeah. That is if you don't get ahead of yourself."

"I won't, I won't," Akko mumbled. She yawned just as there was a knock on the door.

"Miss Kagari?" She immediately sat up. "I would like a word with you."

"Coming Professor Finnelan," Akko rushed.

She stumbled over some textbooks she had left lying in front of her bed and quickly shoved them underneath the bunk. Akko opened the door, revealing Finnelan still in her uniform.

"Excuse me girls, I just have a few questions for Atsuko about today's events." Lotte and Sucy nodded as the door was shut. Akko fidgeted with her hands behind her back; Finnelan never called her anything aside from her last name before. She waited for the witch to begin. "Now, what happened before the dragons attacked you and Miss O'Neill? Did you agitate them in any way?"

Akko shook her head. "No. I didn't even notice they were there. Amanda was even the one who heard them first. We were just doing our detention."

Anne hummed to herself. "And as soon as they saw you, they ignored the Sorcerer's Stone?" Akko nodded. "I see..."

Atsuko grasped her other arm and looked to the floor. "I-I swear I didn't mean to do anything," she murmured quietly. "Honest. I didn't know they'd go after me and rip apart a hallway."

Professor Finnelan, struck, bent to one knee with a hand on her shoulder. Akko was unsurprisingly _surprised_. Anne watched her carefully, and murmured, "You have quite the eyes, Miss Kagari..."

"Uh, er... Thanks..."

"I know it's not your fault," she continued. "You did nothing wrong, dear. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Akko blinked. "Th-Thanks...Professor."

Professor Finnelan stood, straightened her dress, and nodded once. With a clearing of her throat, she said, "Well, that is all for now, Miss Kagari."

"Nothing else?"

Anne arched a brow. "Do you want anything else?"

"Oh, n-no. I was just..." Akko shifted awkwardly. "I don't know. I've just been confused I guess."

"That is understandable," Finnelan said. "It has been quite the unusual day, especially for you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must get to the headmistress' office. Have a good night, Miss Kagari."

"Okay, you too, Professor." Both broke away to their own directions quickly, Akko eager to get back to her bed.

Sucy lifted her attention from her potions, her gas mask on. "Did she want anything else?"

"No. She just asked if I did anything to get their attention."

"And did you?"

"No, I told you! I was literally just standing there!"

Sucy chortled. "I guess that's all it takes with you."

"Oh shut up." Though, she snickered anyhow, which was accompanied by a soft giggle from Lotte.

Another knock on the door. "Lady Kagari?"

The team gawked at the door. "Lady...?" Sucy grumbled as Akko answered the door.

"Hello?"

A fairy with a food wagon entered the dorm and said, with a tilt of his cap, "Lady Cavendish sent you dinner for the night with her best wishes. For your whole team—might I add. I shall be back to collect once you have finished." The fairy then bowed and left without another word.

The wagon, with silver platters and a white tablecloth, was obviously out-of-place. They hovered over the plates, their reflections warped by the silver. "Diana really got you food?"

"Yeah..." Akko mumbled, "I nearly forgot. She said something about it so I didn't have to go to the cafeteria..." She stared in thought for a moment; so Diana cared about the dragons attacking her.

"So you wanna see what's inside?" Lotte asked.

The smell of their meal alone fed them, though Akko grabbed the lid and revealed their feast.

"HOLY SHIT!"

"AKKO, NOT SO LOUD!"

**— — — — — — — — — —**

Ursula never particularly enjoyed gatherings in the headmistress' office, especially ones that were so impromptu. Everybody was much, much older than her—several of which, including Finnelan, Badcock and Lukić, were even her mentors at one point. Unsurprisingly, it was difficult proving herself more than just a past student and an actual professor.

As the adults—despite actually being one herself—discussed the worrying issue at hand, she lingered in the background, leaning against the bookshelf with her arms folded. "I told you, Miranda, after the orientation that this girl would bring trouble here. If we can't tame her enough then—"

"I would argue, Anne, that that's precisely the reason why she should stay. May I remind you how your sister was? Those three years here did her wonders," Holbrooke argued calmly. "And Akko's not as temperamental nor angry at the world. She's very well-mannered, polite, respects her elders, and is quite determined. Her plunders are more dramatic than all the other students, but with extra guidance, I'm sure she will be good."

"That's not what I mean," Anne said tiredly. "I spoke to her outside her dorm room. She didn't so much as breathe for the dragons to have attacked her. Miss O'Neill said the same thing; as soon as Akko was in their line of sight, she was attacked." Anne sighed and admitted, "I recognize her qualities as a person, but not a witch. Regardless of my views on her, when I say she brings trouble, I don't mean she is the trouble. She's a target, and I won't allow other students to get in harms way because of her. First the small animals being butchered in our classrooms late at night, then the dragons... I-I don't know what to do with her."

She frowned, then her gaze flicked to the young professor. "I don't know how to handle another sorceress, Ursula."

The office was dead silent. All eyes were on Professor Ursula, who remained reserved against the bookshelf. Professor Karlyn was the first to speak: "Akko? A sorceress? How is that _possible?!_"

Anne pursed her lips. "Despite Miss Kagari's lack of magical ability, my observations do not deceive me. I firmly believe both Miss Kagari and Miss O'Neill's claims that the dragons were after a power source, and she provided more than our Sorcerer's Stone. And I checked her eyes, Mary—they are not natural."

"They're brown!"

"No, they are red. Just not quite as bright as Ursula." The older witch turned to Ursula. "This is why you tutor her, isn't it? Because she's a sorceress?"

Professor Ursula, nodded, though clarified, "But I never lied. She is miles behind the other students, and I want to help her regardless. We're focusing on the basics right now. Spells without incantations... She picks them up really well, albeit a bit slower than most students." She read the room, and added, "And I'll have you know, she's quite bright and innovative! She just mixes up her words and jumbles her letters around!"

"Amongst other things," a witch mumbled.

The young professor scowled and snapped, "At least she tries! And _regardless, _this whole damn meeting is about our current situation with creatures coming to Luna Nova, not Akko Kagari! Those dragons may have been attracted by her and the stone, but the animals that have been slaughtered for the past semester has _never_ been associated with her, especially when you recall she's only been here for almost three months now!"

The headmistress sighed in agreement. "Yes, Ursula, that is very true. I'm afraid that if we have anything more added against Luna Nova, our image will be tainted, and we'll be quickly financially dry."

Anne asked, "So the Containment Stone?"

"It is our only option as of now... As for Miss Kagari, we must keep more eyes on her. Make sure she is safe—away from anything that would harm her and the other students." The witches murmured in agreement.

She heaved a long, tired breath and said, "I do wish this would be it... But I have a strange feeling that this week is far from over."

* * *

_Hope you enjoyed!_

_:)_


	6. Pt I - Dungeon Witches

_Hope you enjoy!_

_:)_

* * *

**~ Blood of Magic ~**

**|Part 1|  
DUNGEON WITCHES  
[OVA]**

* * *

Ursula smiled gently as students passed by, playing with her hands.

There was a particular ache in her gut, and she knew it wasn't the baked potato she ate the night prior. No. This was deep. _Unsettling_. There was something off with the air. The sun was glinting down at her with a trickster's smile. The stars that would align that night were scheming.

Something of destiny was going to happen that day. She knew it.

So where was Akko? Trouble always followed her around like as a lingering shadow.

Ursula staggered back from around the corner as Diana, Hannah and Barbara approached. "Oh! Excuse me professor, I did not see you there," Diana said, startled.

"It's okay, Diana. I'm just trying to find Akko, is all." She explained, "I-I need to speak with Akko before our activity today. Do you know where she is?"

Diana shook her head. "No. I saw her at breakfast though not as we came here. I'd expect she should be soon, though."

"I see. Well, you three go on to the dungeons," Ursula said sweetly. She watched as the girls strolled away, towards a great hall a floor down. At least she wouldn't have to worry about them. _Especially_ with Diana there, always keeping herself and others in line. But Akko...

_Ah! There she is! _"A-Akko!"

Akko, beside Sucy and Lotte, looked up. "Professor Ursula? Do you need something?" she asked politely. Ursula smiled, appreciative.

"Yes, actually—it's about this exercise," she answered. "You two go to the dungeon, and I'll speak with Akko alone for this."

"Alright," Sucy murmured.

"Come on, we can go find a spot," Lotte said, nudging her forward.

With her friends walking ahead, Akko gave Ursula her full attention. "Okay, so you do you know how dangerous the dungeons can be at some times?" Akko nodded slowly, listening. "Well, I'm not really worried about you, especially with Lotte and Sucy by your side. But there are dragons down there...some of them weaker than others, and they're all down at the lower levels."

Akko audibly gulped. So Ursula didn't have to do much convincing to die-down her eagerness. _Perfect. _"Like the ones that attacked me a few days ago?"

Ursula nodded, though it was slow. "Yes...and no. I don't think any of them are that big or that much of a worry. Except for one."

"For...one?"

"Yes. He's an ancient dragon locked away in an iron maiden. He's at the lowest level," said Ursula. "Whatever you do, _please_ do not open the iron maiden. I don't know much about him and what he's like as a dragon, but I know for certain he hasn't been fed magic one way or another in several centuries at _least_, so I don't know how primal he'll end up behaving."

Akko pursed her lips and frowned. She nodded once. "Okay. Don't go after dragons, and don't open the iron maiden. Got it." She thought for a second. "So...avoid going to the lower levels then? How will I know I went too far?"

"The lower levels I'm talking about look more like caves than they do dungeons."

"Okay. I won't let you down!" Akko promised. Ursula smiled, and Akko was off, joining Lotte and Sucy before they made it to the dungeon hall. Ursula stood there for a moment, conflicted.

She just did everything she could. Why didn't the feeling in her gut lessen? She frowned.

That day would be a very long and tiring day, wouldn't it?

Days of destiny always were.

**— — — — — — — — — —**

Students were clustered in the center of a great room underground, beneath the Labyrinth Tower. Despite the tiring walk in the cramped tunnel to reach the tower's base, everybody couldn't have been more thrilled with today's activity. Professor Ursula stood beside a wheeled-blackboard, waiting patiently as the students settled down.

Hannah and Barbara were some of the minority that weren't as excited. They watched Diana, hoping to leech some of the confidence that she had woken up with that morning.

As in, Diana awoke with a gentle smirk and a glint in her eyes, which puzzled both of her friends as she sipped her morning tea. This was another faucet of her personality they have yet to see. They always knew she was adept at combat, and was very skilled in all the athletic competitions they have contributed to—the broom relay the most recent—though they still wondered what the dungeons would bring out of Diana. And that she'd protect them (which they sincerely doubted that she wouldn't); Barbara had heard stories of the labyrinth and shared them with Hannah beforehand.

"So...Diana?" Barbara asked.

"Hmm?"

Barbara fiddled with the bag slung over her shoulder. "What do you think Ursula needed Akko for?"

Diana shrugged. "It doesn't involve us, does it? And besides, she could have been lending Akko a tip or two before going in. You know how Akko gets with these sorts of things."

Hannah chuckled weakly as Barbara agreed: "Yeah...she get's a bit too much." She glanced over at the red team and saw the perfect display of their comments. Akko was grinning mischievously, a hand already tense around her wand. "Like...a lot too much..."

"Alright class, listen here!"

Everybody grew silent and watched Professor Ursula. "Today, you will put your skills to the test. This tower is built on an ancient labyrinth filled with many dungeons and levels. For today's assignment—" the blackboard exploded with life, a reimagination of their activity playing out— "since we're not to go outside, you will have to go into the dungeons, find hidden treasure and retrieve it. _But_, there are many creatures and monsters that lurk within these dungeons. These are obstacles in your quest. Nevertheless, the rarer item your team gets, the higher score you earn. The further down you go, the rarer the treasures are... Furthermore, the strength of the monsters also increase. You have three hours." Ursula flicked her wand and the dungeon doors creaked, the bars overlapping them sliding to the side.

"Surprise me with your talent and skills! Good luck! Begin."

The doors were open. A strange, cool breeze passed them, promptly sending shivers down Barbara and Hannah's spines. Diana couldn't have been any more ecstatic, despite her calm and collected expression. Though it wasn't impassive, and that detail alone alerted her friends.

"Come _on_ Lotte, Sucy! Let's go!" Akko said, practically tugging them in.

Barbara scowled. "Does she _have_ to be like some dumb puppy all the time?"

"Yeah, even Amanda's not _that_ excited," Hannah murmured, watching said witch as she entered the dungeons, anxiously looking through the tunnel.

Diana strode forward and said, "Come on Barbara, Hannah. Let us not waste time."

They gulped and nodded, following obediently. The further away they walked from the doors, the more cold and unsympathetic the dungeons became. It didn't deter Diana, however, as she held up her wand and lit the hallway. There were several diverging hallways. "Which one shall we go?" she asked, quietly.

"I-I don't know. You pick."

"Yeah, why are you asking us?" Barbara added.

A smirk was born. "That one." She pointed towards the very end where the doorway was the most crumbled and deteriorated.

"That one?! Diana, you can't be serious!"

"Well, I _did_ ask you two, and you left the opinion to me." Diana looked over her shoulder and, by _God_, Hannah felt her heart skip a beat for a long moment. The grin she wore was sly, and the way it relaxed her face was charming; Hannah found it reminded her of Amanda's. Though...perhaps more noble and _not_ how Diana usually was. "Come on. You two are safe as long as you're with me."

Barbara nodded. "You're right. I suppose we are." As they continued forth down the path of uncertainty, Barbara glanced to her side. With her voice low, she asked, "Is it just me, or is she having _fun?_"

"It's not," Hannah murmured. "I don't think I've ever seen her smile this much before." Barbara couldn't help but agree.

The continued to follow Diana through several halls and corners—filling their bags with some things that glinted. Crowns. Jewelry. A...weird ornamental thingy. They would be worth _something,_ right?

At one corner, they nearly slammed into Diana. Her expressionless mask was pulled back on. They looked around Diana's side. Akko stood with fists rested on her hips, Lotte and Sucy flanking her. The teams mirrored each other.

"What are you doing here?" Hannah asked.

"Yeah. Don't you know this path is dangerous? Diana's able to come down here, so what makes you think you can?"

Akko stuck her tongue out and then slid her eyes back to Diana. "I don't know what you two are talking about, we got here first!"

"Oh, establishing territories, are we?" Diana asked. "You know, Akko, that isn't the objective."

"I know what the objective is," Akko mumbled. "We already have some pretty good stuff with us too!" Aggressively (which was disputed by Lotte's surprised gasp, "_Akko!_"), she dug her hand into her teammate's bag and pulled out a glimmering, gold-reenforced statue of a rat. "See?!"

Diana glanced behind her as Barbara and Hannah shifted awkwardly with their items, which was worn at the edges and dusted with grime. Sighing, she admits, "Perhaps that is the case, but by the end of the three hours, we'll see how that plays out."

Akko folded her arms and jutted her hip to the side. "You know, just because you're Diana and all that, I can still get more stuff!"

"Is that so? You sound confident."

"A-And so do you!"

Lotte sighed and muttered, "Akko, come on... Let's just go, we're losing time."

"I'd listen to her, Akko," Diana said, adding cheekily, "you'll need all the time you can get."

"Right back at you!"

Diana chuckled and set down her wand, sliding it to her hip. Atsuko's recklessness was contagious that day. Diana's thoughts swarmed with pride, and the thought of adrenaline rushing through her veins as she battled monsters started to take control. "Are you saying I can't handle myself in here?"

Akko paused for a moment, and Diana knew she didn't mean the remark. Even so: "Y-Yes...? Yes...err, yeah..." Akko answered meekly.

Diana set her hands on her hips. "I'll have you know Akko—" her body surged with giddiness, something rare that compelled her further— "it doesn't matter what monsters are in here, I have a few tricks up my sleeves of my own." Akko blinked and Diana's figure warped suddenly. Everybody around her gasped as Diana didn't stand with her hands on her hips any longer, but instead was slithering down the stairs with a confident speed, teal eyes with slit pupils and scales as white as the moonlight.

Barbara and Hannah lingered, baffled just as Akko, Lotte and Sucy were. Sucy turned to Akko. "What, are you going to turn into a black fox and hunt her now?"

Akko scowled. "Oh, shut up Sucy! Let's go this way." They passed Hannah and Barbara.

"You know, I really don't think you can do more than Diana can in here," Sucy said adding, "even if she's full of herself."

"Yeah, Akko...we should just stay up here. The monsters are scarier down there anyway. And don't forget about the dragons, too..."

Hannah and Barbara glanced at one another and hurriedly rushed down the stairs, following where Diana went. At the landing, they looked around.

"Where did she go?" Hannah asked.

"I don't know... But did you see that spell? She didn't even have to say an incantation!"

Hannah nodded. "Yeah. Maybe we shouldn't be so worried after all." She glanced up the side of a wardrobe and halted. "Diana?"

There Diana was, perched at the top of the furniture piece. But she wasn't a snake any longer, her legs dangling casually against the side. "I'm glad you found me. I thought I'd have to continue down myself."

She hopped down and continued onwards, leaving Barbara to stutter, "B-But...Diana, why do we keep going down?! The monsters are really scary down there. Lotte even said—"

"You have me, okay? I won't let anything get to you two," Diana assured. "And besides, with all the time we're losing making the trip, we'll make it up with the items we'll find."

"But what if we get lost?"

"O-Or fall down some hole?"

"Or get eaten?!"

"Girls," Diana gasped, exasperated, "if you worry about that kind of thing, it will happen. Just relax. Nothing will hurt us badly, okay?"

"Badly...but still not-badly hurt us?"

Diana rolled her eyes and turned another corner. "Now this looks like a good place to start..."

Hannah gulped and studied the room. Yup, just as she expected: dark, dangerous, creepy, and spooky and dark and dangerous and creepy...

They strolled in and immediately Diana launched herself backwards, tugging Hannah and Barbara along with her. A large, mantis-like monster had jumped from the ceiling, hissing and spitting aggressively. Hannah and Barbara screamed, clutching each other as Diana swiftly casted a few spells towards its legs, then its head.

Just like that, it was dealt with. Burnt to a crisp. She turned around. "See? You have nothing to worry about."

"Y-Yeah... Okay, yeah, we know. But can we go back? This place is really scary," Barbara whined.

"Yeah. Diana, please? We can go up higher."

"We have a bunch of stuff too... Like some chainmail, and a sword and knife and..." She observed the ornamental thingy with a winced. "And, uh, this...bat...uh..."

"Dildo...art..." Hannah added, immediately turning away as Barbara glared at her.

"_N-No!_ It's a...nice, err...uh..." Barbara let her sentence die off as Diana sighed.

She shook her head and said, "But those are all common drops. Nobody would even dare call them rare items." Diana glared at the bat-dildo-thing. "And throw that ridiculous door knocker away! That is probably something that was broken off!"

As Barbara hastily tossed it to the side, Hannah asked "But if we get enough of them? Like... Like enough of the fancy stuff...?"

"Would you carry all of it?" Diana asked.

Hannah paused and thought for a moment. "Well, if that means we can go up higher, yeah."

Diana arched a brow, putting her hands on her hips. "You two are being ridiculous. The academy wouldn't just send us down her to _die_. The labyrinth most likely has spells to save us from serious harm within these dungeons." In unison, Hannah and Barbara clutched each other tighter, eyes locked over her shoulder.

"What?"

"D-Diana..."

"Behind you..."

"A-A bull," the finished, together.

"A bull...?" Diana twisted around, and while there was no bull, there was certainly a minotaur. Her eyes widened. It was huge and irritated. And from what Diana remembered from her studies, its skin was thick, nearly impenetrable to magic.

"Shit..."

"DIANA?! I THOUGHT YOU FUCKING SAID YOU WOULD PROTECT US!" Hannah screamed.

"AND DAMMIT I WILL, HANNAH!" Diana barked back. "JUST GET SOMEWHERE SAFE IF YOU HAVE TO OR _HELP ME!_"

Begrudgingly, Barbara and Hannah whipped out their wands.

**— — — — — — — — — —**

Lotte and Sucy couldn't imagine how Akko was able to skip the steps _downwards_, considering that a) skipping steps while going down stairs was a feat on its own and b) the labyrinth's stairs proved to be unreliable in consistency the further they went down the levels. Essentially, going down was a lot harder than going up. (Well, without falling easily.) Not a new fact.

"Akko! Slow down!" Lotte called out.

Finally, Atsuko halted and turned around. Her breaths were heavy, which was unsurprising since she was chasing a "little bugger" (her words) down the steps as well; again, a feat. "Why? Diana's going to get ahead if we don't continue onwards!"

Lotte sighed and said, "Well, at least... Hold on." She tapped her skull lantern. "Come on out," she whispered softly. Briefly, the light in the lantern was doused before a spirit stuck its head out. It chirped as it hopped down, prancing along the steps in front of Akko. In a burst of blue light, the staircase was far easier to see. "There we go, now we can see where we're going."

"But the danger's part of the fun..." Akko grumbled. Even so, now with the better light source, Akko saw the little bugger crawling towards the ceiling. "There you are!" She whipped her wand, and a small explosion lifted it off its feet, sending it tumbling down the stairs. "Get back here!"

"Akko! We're not supposed to _hunt_ the monsters! We're supposed to avoid them!"

"And remember what Ursula told you before?" Sucy added, irritably.

Akko continued whipping her wand as they made it to a floor, cutting off the stairs. "This isn't a dragon, now is it?" She glanced back and forth, stomping her foot on the ground. "Damn it, where did it go now?"

"Akko, that's not really import—"

Screams interrupted Lotte. Akko turned at her heel towards the danger. "Come on, we can help them!" she said confidently, bolting towards the troubled witches. Sucy and Lotte glanced at one another before charging after her. They found themselves in a large space. Akko gasped, "A minotaur?" as they entered. She blinked and narrowed her eyes. Packed in the corner behind a defensive spell stood Diana with Hannah and Barbara behind her. Akko scoffed. "'Are you saying I can't handle myself here?'"

Diana's attention—along with the minotaur, Hannah and Barbara—snapped towards Akko. "Not now Akko, just help with the bloody thing!"

Akko nodded dutifully and aimed. With the same, wordless spell, she sent the minotaur staggering backwards, clutching its eye. However, at the second strike, she hit the side of its head and felt the spell rebound off its skin, whacking her instead. She grunted and was slammed to the ground.

Diana quickly disarmed her shield, seizing the opportunity to attack with the minotaur distracted. And she knew what to do: first she needed to expose its vulnerable flesh from underneath its skin,_ then_ she'd be able to attack appropriately.

"All the swords!" she yelled. Amongst the cluttered bones of fallen victims, swords rose to the occasion. "Become my blade, and strike once more!"

The swords were swift to penetrate the minotaur's back, successfully breaking through the skin. However, they also became lodged as well, something that...evaded Diana beforehand. She swallowed, taking a step back that was reinforced by Hannah and Barbara's terrified clutches.

Now the minotaur was flat-out _pissed_.

It reared its ugly head and roared, Diana quickly sending a fire spell to its other eye. It howled in pain, jaw clenched.

"Looks like Miss Perfect fucked it up too..." Sucy, shuffling with a potion, sighed, "Well, I guess it's my turn." She strode forward, raising her voice: "Hey, over here!"

Irritated, the minotaur twisted around. The monster bent over, eyes practically bulging out of its sockets as it gripped the air with both fists. It snorted in Sucy's face.

Undeterred, Sucy ordered, "Open wide."

The minotaur roared, then choked as Sucy poured her potion in its mouth. It stumbled backwards, its body becoming distorted and horrific by the second. Everybody watched as the minotaur became a grotesque mass of struggling muscle and bone, its screams deafening. Barbara gagged at the sight, holding her stomach. The minotaur melted away, searing a hole in the floor.

And the threat was there no longer. (...obviously.)

As Barbara gave into her vomit in the corner, Hannah grimaced at the stench now wreaking havoc in the room. She wasn't the only one. Barbara (again, _obviously_) scowled once she was done along with Lotte, Akko and Diana. Sucy, it seemed, was the only one immune, chuckling to herself. "Must've been a bit too strong..." she murmured, looking down the hole. "Went right through a couple of floors too."

Diana thinned her lips in thought. With her decision made, she said, "We can continue down this way."

"Y-You actually want to continue?!" Hannah gasped.

"You want us to go through that hole!" Barbara whined, "Diana! It still has guts and blood all over it!"

"Then don't touch it!" Diana snapped. She exhaled and said, more calmly, "Stay up here with these three, if you want then. _I_, however—" she whipped out her pocket broom and slipped it over the end of her wand— "will go down alone if I have to. I'm not afraid."

Atsuko snorted, finally nearing the edge of the hole.

Diana stared at her, a brow raised. "Excuse me?"

Akko didn't answer immediately. She instead looked down the hole and tapped her foot. "If you think you can go down there alone, you're an idiot."

"E-_Excuse me?!_"

"Y-Yeah!" Hannah crossed her arms, snapping with her voice wavered: "Look who you're talking to!"

"Look who you're talking to, too!" Akko retorted. "That minotaur just had you three backed-up in a corner until we came! Diana, you can't go down there _alone_."

"Which is why we're going down too," Barbara hissed. The tremble in her hand revealed her inner dialogue: _What the fuck am I doing? _She raised her wand with the pocket-broom alongside Hannah.

Diana glanced at Akko, smug. "Worked itself out." With that, she jumped in the hole, her wand carrying her down gently. Both Hannah and Barbara audibly gulped before following suit.

Akko growled to herself. "Why is she so...so..."

"Arrogant?" Lotte offered.

"Full-of-herself?"

"_Cocky?!_" Akko finished with a snap.

Sucy shrugged, oddly impressed. "That works."

Akko huffed and said, "We have to go down after her."

"But we don't have brooms. _And_ you can't fly either."

Atsuko scowled, though she didn't argue. It wasn't like Sucy was _wrong._ She crouched over the edge, however, and yelled, "DIANA! I FUCKING SWEAR IF YOU DIE BECAUSE YOU'RE A MORON, I—I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

It took a couple of seconds, but she got an answer: "AND THEN WHAT, AKKO?! I WOULD HAUNT YOU, YOU KNOW!"

To Lotte and Sucy's surprise, Akko chuckled. With a cheeky grin, she thought. "I WOULD PISS ON YOUR GRAVE!"

Sucy leaned to the side, towards Lotte. "They seem like they're actually enjoying themselves," she whispered quietly.

"You think?" Lotte replied dryly. "I feel like they are the only two who are in their element."

"How come?"

"YOU BETTER HOPE YOU'RE DEAD NEXT TIME I SEE YOU, AKKO!"

Lotte gave a shared look with Sucy. "They're the only ones having a pissing match right now. Not even Amanda's doing anything like this." They watched as Akko stood back up, rather pleased with herself.

She took a step forward.

Onto slimy, leftover meat.

Lotte gasped as Akko yelped, slipping backwards into the hole. "Akko!" she screamed.

Both listened to their friend and scrambled to the edge as their friend disappeared into the shadows; Akko shrieks were deafening: "DIANA! LOOK OUT!"

"Where is she?! I can't see a thing!" Lotte asked, panicked.

Akko, however, barely could. Below her were the three glowing orbs of wands.

But they were getting closer, and fast.

Soon enough, she saw Diana, her eyes wide. "A-Akko! What—?!" She grunted as Akko slammed into her, barreling towards the wall with great speed. Hannah and Barbara weren't in the clear either. They all screamed, having lost their wands. With barely a second to register the strong, thick vines crawling up the walls, Atsuko whipped out a hand.

She groaned as her body vaulted itself against the rocky surface, then once again when weight grappled around her waist. Akko tightened her jaw as the girls screamed, all four slipping down the vine by half a meter. With heavy breaths, Akko briefly glanced around her waist.

Diana held her tightly around the waist, her heavy breaths against the small of her back, and the other two hung at her legs. Akko gasped as she eased herself up within several labored attempts until she was relatively stable enough to support all of the weight. "[You are all just rice bags... You are all just rice bags...]" she murmured in Japanese.

"What was that?" Diana hissed.

"You're a rice bag," Akko answered through clenched teeth.

"Wha—"

In the distance, they heard Lotte ask Sucy where they were, worry drowning her usually mellow voice. Then a green light flashed onto the girls.

Pebbles crumbled around Akko's grip, and she extended her left arm, elbow bent. Sucy drawled, "There they are. Lucky Akko was able to catch the last of the vines on the wall, and that it wasn't smooth all the way down."

Teasingly, Akko grunted, "What...were you...saying? Ab-bout...not needing me?"

Diana felt a whimper escape her throat as she clutched Akko tighter. "Not right now, _Akko_," she warned.

Akko's chuckle morphed into another grunt. "D-Diana, grab my arm and try to hoist yourself up more," she wheezed, feeling the two girls at Diana's legs struggle continuously. "Come on, they're going to loose their grip. They need more to hold onto."

Diana gasped as shakily reached to hook her arm around Akko's; her body was barely able to sustain the weight. Diana could only wonder how Akko managed to be so still at this rate. "But your arm...it could—"

"You won't be holding onto my elbow. Wrap it around my shoulder." She swallowed and obeyed. "Hannah, Barbara, are you good?"

"Yes..."

"Sort of..."

Atsuko inhaled deeply before ordering, "Actually Diana, hold on. You two find something to grab onto. The wall or me. Then you need to move up with Diana."

"Okay," Hannah mumbled.

"Yeah..." Barbara whispered a moment later. Diana felt them slowly grope the wall for anything to hold onto, cringing as Barbara let out a sharp cry. "_Fuck_, my nail!" It took her a moment until she found Akko's sturdy, red belt where Hannah wrapped her arm around Akko's calf; the wall bore nothing for their hands to grab onto, though allowed some support for their feet.

"Okay, okay..." Akko murmured. She took in a long, large breath of air, then breathed it out. "Now go."

Diana felt Akko brace herself, then reached up. She hooked it around Akko's extended elbow to her shoulder as Hannah and Barbara heaved themselves upwards. After a few minutes' worth of struggling, they stopped. Diana, her head resting in the middle of Akko's back, felt more secure. The two witches below clutched to both her and Atsuko, whose shoulder felt tense and strong underneath her touch.

Diana swallowed.

With everything calming down, she was able to truly feel the predicament they were in. Hannah and Barbara breathing against her hips, legs solidly on the wall. Akko's slight trembles after holding them in place for so long. Akko's breathing with Diana's other clutch around her torso; Diana felt her ribs and muscle just above her hip. And her heart. It throbbed violently, vibrating against Diana's ear.

But even with her worry, Atsuko Kagari was her safety net. Strong and able. Her body was surely sculpted from stone, cushioned with curves. Akko's body melded well with her own—

She didn't even notice the blush streaking her cheeks until she realized just how close to Akko she was. Until she realized her own thumping heart, and the queasy warmth brewing at the base of her gut. Diana found herself flustered.

And yet, this feeling had nothing to do with Hannah and Barbara, who too were too close for comfort.

But, then again, their bodies didn't feel as athletic—as secure. Against Akko, Diana felt protected, like nothing would ever come to harm—despite dangling off the side of a cavern wall. It felt like an eternity had passed, and she was sure Hannah and Barbara's life flashed before their eyes.

"Are you guys alright?" Lotte called down. It may have been just an intense few minutes.

"Y-Yeah," Akko projected her voice, "I-I think so!"

"What do we do?" Lotte asked.

Before Akko answered, all four gasped. Hannah slipped and wrenched herself up to Akko's belt, clambering up restlessly. Barbara was thrown off-balance and hurled herself upwards as well. Akko hissed, "_Watch_ it, whoever's grabbing my ass!"

"Mine-too," Diana grumbled forcefully through bared teeth.

"Sorry," both apologized.

Akko, whose trembling infected Diana, yelled, "Just go and get help! We'll probably be all the way down by then...we'll figure something out, right?" She muttered, "Who still has their wand?"

"You do," Barbara answered. "It's still in your belt."

"Oh."

"Are you sure you want us to leave you?!" Lotte asked again.

"Yeah! We have a wand! I'm sure Diana could do something!" As Sucy and Lotte strode away hesitantly, Akko sighed.

"You moron, they could've done something!" Barbara argued.

"I don't know if they had anything that'd reach us. I don't think we're at all near the same levels." She winced, the weight burning her muscles. "Come on, Diana, do something!"

"Me?! I don't have a free hand!"

"None of us do," Akko retorted.

Diana grumbled. She tested the support the wall gave her foothold. "I'm going to get it... Now everybody keep quiet and don't move."

The three witches remained as still as possible as she slowly began to untangle her hand from around Akko's waist. Everything in her was telling her otherwise. Feeling Akko against her was everything she wanted at the moment.

Akko tensed as she reached towards where she thought the wand would be. "_Diana..._" Atsuko snapped. She didn't have to. Diana had already removed her hand from the end of her skirt sheepishly. Knowing where her skirt ended, however, helped. Diana reached up, her blush blooming darker—too high. And dangerously close. On the third attempt, she secured the wand. "Okay... You have it?"

"Yes..." Light illuminated from the end and Diana, pressed against the wall and (most notably) Akko, pointed it down and saw the ground below. Three wands glinted at the bottom as well. "Hannah, Barbara. We're going to let go—"

"WHAT?"

"—once I cast a heavier bubble to the ground. I think it's the only thing that'd be able to handle the weight, and anything lighter would pop if we tried floating down."

"...a-are you sure?"

Akko grunted, and Diana felt her heart pulse against her body. "We have no other option right now, and we don't have time." With confidence, Diana murmured the incantation, and a large bubble erupted from the wand. As predicted, it flew to the bottom precariously, though didn't pop. "Come on." Neither let go. Both were struck with absolute fear. "Or I'll do it..."

Diana pushed off of Akko, and both Hannah and Barbara shrieked. They fell down, though were immediately met with a soft, cushioned landing. As Diana slid off the bubble, Hannah and Barbara blinked in surprise. She held up the wand with its light. "Akko?"

"Still here."

She rolled her eyes. "Drop down." Hannah and Barbara quickly scrambled off and seconds thereafter, Akko jumped. The bubble popped soon after Akko landed, sending her across the—wherever they were.

Once ensuring that Atsuko was alright, picking up a wand from the ground, Diana looked around. "We're still in the dungeon," she said with the brick floor confirming that observation. It was broken, however, with rocks and puddles scattered about. "Probably the lowest part, but we are." As Akko made it to her side, Diana said, "And thank-you, Akko. I don't think we would've gotten out of that alive."

"Sure we would've!" Hannah snapped. "We wouldn't have been in that mess if it weren't for her being an idiot and falling off!"

Atsuko scowled and hissed crossly, "I slipped, okay?! I didn't mean to!"

"Well what were you doing at the edge anyway?!" Barbara joined in. "Diana didn't say _you_ were supposed to come along!"

Diana sighed tiredly. Akko argued, "If my memory isn't shit, she said she was going to go down alone before you two hopped right in!"

"So?! We're on the same team!"

"We're in the same year!"

"We—"

"All of you, _shut it!_" Diana snarled, her temper rather difficult to control by this point. "Yes, Akko was the cause of it, but she redeemed herself by being the only one holding onto the wall for _all of us!_ Shit happens, get over yourselves!" She turned towards Akko and added, "But they do have a point as well. Did you actually slip or were you trying to follow us down?"

Akko crossed her arms. "_No_. I slipped. But I'm kind of glad I did if you still think you three are able to defend yourselves if anything happened!"

"They're with me! Why do you care anyway?!"

"What if something happened to _you__?!_" Atsuko stumbled over herself for a moment, then cleared her throat. "Look, I'm sorry for falling over the edge. But I still say you're an idiot if you think you can take on anything down here."

"And you can?"

"Well...no—"

"Exactly, Akko. Out of all of us, I'm the most practiced. And I've researched most of everything in this dungeon," Diana said, her voice softer. She sighed and added, before Hannah and Barbara could say anything, "Let's find a way out so you can go." They started wondering towards what seemed like a tunnel that was crudely dug out.

"And you—"

"_Akko._"

The witch halted. "You think you're all-that, don't you?"

Diana frowned. "I know my skills, Akko," she murmured, continuing forth. She heard a huff and rolled her eyes.

"No, you don't. That's what makes us different."

"No! Diana has more power in an eyelash than you ever will!" Hannah snapped.

Diana held up a hand, quieting her. She spat, "How so? You're always throwing yourself into situations without even thinking!"

"Yeah, but I never believe I'm going to come out of them in one piece!" Akko snapped. Her words halted Diana in her tracks and turned her around. "But you do," she finished.

"We're finding a way out, and you're going to join your friends," Diana murmured, continuing down the tunnel.

Akko grumbled. There was no convincing her, was there?

They turned a corner, and Diana jerked her chin. "There. An exit."

And indeed it was, pushed to the corner of a great chamber, the walls glowing mysteriously. Akko didn't go immediately, and Diana didn't argue; there was no convincing _her_ either, was there?

Diana's gaze continued to wander around the room, landing on—

"An iron maiden?" Hannah whispered. She glanced at Diana, holding up her wand for more light. "Please, I know what you're thinking. Can't we just get out of here? We have a bunch of— Where's are collectables?! Akko! You made us lose—"

"Akko, go to the exit and leave us to this _alone_," Diana ordered, promptly cutting off Hannah.

"No! I know what you're going to do, Diana, and I'm not going to let you do it. Leave it alone," Akko said, arms folded. "Hannah's right. Just go upstairs and find some other stuff. You still have time."

Diana eyed Akko over her shoulder. "Fine. Stay then. But I'm opening it."

Atsuko scowled and looked at the iron maiden. Immediately she swore to herself. "Diana, _no!_ Not that one!"

"You're not going to stop me, Akko!" Diana hissed, whipping out her wand. She wasn't an idiot. She was _not_ an idiot! She could handle herself same as Akko—_more_ than Akko, really. She could. She really could, and she would show Akko! She would show how good of a witch she was, and not just because she was a _Cavendish._

"No! Diana, don't do this! That's _really _not something you're supposed to open!"

Hannah and Barbara couldn't even contribute. They've never seen Diana this visibly irritated—not when she'd argued with Akko before, nor when Diana snapped at them the week prior.

Akko grumbled and did the only thing she thought of with Diana's wand ready in the air: she pounced.

Diana grunted as they slammed to the ground, twisting to her back until she found her hands were locked in place. "Get-_off_," she hissed through her teeth, scrambling with her legs before they, too, were pinned down by Akko. She stopped struggling and stared up at her. Dark eyes were on the iron maiden, her gaze darting up and down. "What?"

"It's sealed, Diana," Akko muttered, eyes finally meeting hers.

Diana felt heat swarm her gut and chest. Atsuko's stare was just as fired-up as hers. Just how strong was Akko, exactly? Diana had the sudden urge to feel for herself—reach around her back, feel up her stomach, caress her arms and shoulders—it really didn't matter. She was glad the room wasn't lit enough to reveal her deep blush.

"S-Sealed? For what reason?!"

"For a good one! _Don't_ open it!"

Akko's hair was down as well. Her bangs now barely covered her eyes, and Diana felt the urge to...something. She didn't know what, and it frightened her. Reach up... Hold... Lean... Press her body against Atsuko once again.

The warmth—she _needed_ that warmth again. The stone against her back was bitterly cold.

"You can read that?" Barbara asked.

Akko nodded. "Lucky for me, it's in Japanese." Diana continued to stare at Akko's neck curiously; her tie was gone, and her shirt had lost its first button—most likely when they crashed into the wall.

"Then what does it say?"

She never noticed Akko's neck before, though Diana knew she never got the chance to see a scrap of Akko's upper body. She got enough leg, including the taunt thighs holding her legs down, warming her gut further.

"Directly, it's a weird wording, like it's not their first language... 'Dragon kept box do not open, it is dangerous, please.'" Akko considered for a moment. "...at least they were polite about it," she grumbled absentmindedly.

_Would she notice if I just... _

Diana's eyes widened, and she jerked away from Akko, successfully shoving her off. "That— That's not the point," she gasped, her thoughts rampant on whatever the _hell_ she was just considering. "This is still in this dungeon, and our assignment is to loot whatever we can!"

"Listen to me!" Akko snapped, getting to her feet. "I may not be as good of a witch as you are but I know damn well you shouldn't open that! That's the point! There's seals on it for a reason! _Please_, Diana!"

The way she bore her teeth sent goosebumps across Diana's back, and her eyes encouraged the queasy irk to jolt. Diana swallowed and wrung her wrists. "Then— _Then_ go if you're so bad! You would just be dead weight anyway!" Diana barked. "I-I don't _need you!_"

Akko grew quiet. Hannah and Barbara, too, couldn't muster a words; they were frozen in place. Shocked. They never would've thought such words would fly out from Diana.

"Oh," she scoffed, "I see how it is. Fine then. Go and open it, I don't care...if I'm just dead weight anyway."

As Diana watched Akko walk towards the exit, fists balled, she felt a pang in her chest. She swallowed, though ignored her urges tugging her to chase after Akko. Her urges knew _nothing_. They were of distaste. They were a disgrace. Indecent at a time like this, when their assignment was priority...

And Akko didn't turn back.

She scowled and ranted in her native language, calling Diana every foul name in the books. And when she ran out of them, she used more creative insults to give her the energy to walk all those steps up the dungeon levels.

She sniffed and wiped her eyes. "I hate her," she cried softly, storming up the stairs. "Stupid cunt. I-I hate her! Why does she have to be such a bitch?!" She halted for a moment, staring at the stairs with her fist tight around her wand. Akko shook her head. "No. She can handle herself..." She frowned. "She can handle herself... She doesn't need me. I'm just stupid and useless."

Akko sniffed and wiped her eyes again as she continued to trudge up the stairs.

**— — — — — — — — — —**

"D-Diana...?"

She remained still as Hannah crept forward carefully, unknowing of her temperament. The further they had travelled down the dungeons, Hannah realized Diana _was_ much like a snake; she was intimidating and unreadable as need be.

"Yes?"

Hannah relaxed. Her voice was soft—no malice woven within. But Hannah was still uneasy from Diana's troubled gaze. She knew it wasn't because they were in the deepest, darkest dungeon they could find.

"Should we go follow Akko? I mean, I hate to admit it, but she _was_ right, you know... There are still things on higher levels."

"Yeah," agreed Barbara. "And we still have the time to..." She couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence.

Diana stared at the iron maiden. Both Barbara and Hannah could only wonder what was going through her head. Gears and cogs were turning behind her azure eyes, and neither could imagine the chaos holding Diana still.

A war raged.

She was tugged and tossed to one side, then another, and then a completely separate direction. Diana watched, not from a bird's eye, but from underneath, trampled into the dirt and grime. And as her fist balled tightly around her wand, heart pulsing against it, she trembled.

The emotions. Everything she felt was too much, setting a grim tension in her shoulders. Diana came to one conclusion: she was going to prove herself. To Akko. That she was capable. She was powerful. She didn't _need_ Akko. She didn't _want her._

And— And Diana knew it, dammit. Couldn't Akko _see_ that she was capable?! Was that why she constantly set herself up as Diana's _rival?!_ Because Diana wasn't good enough as a witch to defend herself? Protect people?

Protect Akko?!

It was disgusting, really. She was a Cavendish. Her family and her name spoke volumes. Diana understood that now. She didn't need to prove herself to anyone! And yet, isn't this what she fucking wanted?! To be _tested?!_

Diana gritted her teeth and aimed for the iron maiden. It gleamed, goading her in the light of her wand. It wanted her to do this. It wanted her to prove herself—to prove nothing and everything all at once.

"H-Hey... D-Diana...?" Hannah's voice shook behind her.

Barbara, too, asked, "W-What are you doing?"

They clutched one another as Diana turned, her stare piercing straight through them. "Oh, don't _you_ two start doubting me," she hissed.

"D-Doubting...?" Barbara croaked. "I-Is that it? We're not— We're not doubting you! We know you can do this! B-But we're..."

"We're scared... I-I _really_ don't like it here," Hannah added.

"But _I'm_ here!" Diana snapped. "You don't have anything to worry about!"

"But A-Akko's not he—"

"_Enough with fucking Akko!_" Diana snarled, voice raised. "You two don't give a damn about her! Why the _hell_ do you now?! I've been the one catching her mistakes, _yes?!_"

"W-Well, _yeah!_ But you're being irrational Diana! It's scaring me!" Barbara snapped back, voice wavered.

Diana scowled. "I need this..." she whispered. Why were they doubting her abilities?! _Why?!_ She _knew_ what she could do—Akko didn't know shit. Diana didn't think of herself as _all that_. She knew her skills. She sacrificed her childhood for all of her magic!

Hannah swallowed and said, "Yeah... Diana, y-you're a Cavendish. Y-You don't need to prove th—"

"_You _don't GET IT!" Diana roared. "I WANT TO BE MORE THAN MY NAME! I AM DIANA FIRST! AND I HAVE NO DESIRE TO BE HUMILIATED BY THE LIKES OF AKKO, OR EITHER OF YOU _ANYMORE!_"

Her friends were left speechless. Frightened. _Like a snake..._ Barbara's thoughts whirled. _Unreadable. Sudden. Cold. _And then, another thought that Barbara was sure she shared with Hannah: _She doesn't want to be humiliated...by us? _She swallowed, forcing a blink once they stung. _Anymore...?_

Her back faced them.

Diana Cavendish would live up to her name. And _surpass it._ That would be her legacy. _That_ was her utmost desire—and damn the childish _lust_ for Akko and her body. It was degrading to the _her_ as a Diana and a Cavendish. She was through. She would prove it. She was capable. She didn't need anyone. She only had herself to grow her magic, and her talents, and that hadn't changed.

She aimed and directed her hiss towards the iron maiden. Nothing was going to stop her. Nobody.

Diana slashed the air, slicing the seals before they were burned away. Hannah and Barbara cowered behind her as the iron maiden creaked, vomiting a pile of dust and smoke. Diana frowned, perked.

"Th-There's nothing in it?" Barbara whispered.

With a slow shake of her head, Diana said, "No..." Once everything cleared, the three grew puzzled. "A...lizard?"

On either side of her, her teammates leaned over. "What kind of joke is that?! Who'd call that a dragon?"

"Akko did," Hannah deadpanned.

The strange lizard squinted at them with yellow eyes, its deer-like ears folded towards them. It was small, its body coiling with the fluidity of a snake. The mythical lizard tapped its feet as it staggered to the side, three long talons on each. Its scales almost glowed in their wands' lights, a light maroon with a bleached purple underside. Along its spine was a mane of fluffy grey fur, which met at its jaws to form a sort of beard that sprouted a long mustache not unlike whiskers.

It tilted its head to the side curiously, revealing its horns.

"I guess she was wrong after all... This has to be some stupid prank," Hannah grumbled, her confidence building. "It's just a puny little thing."

The blue team stared. Hannah and Barbara were both nervous, though convinced of the lack of threat. Diana, meanwhile, glowered at the animal, her arrogance subdued by ignominy.

"Well, this should be easy then," Barbara said. She raised her wand, and a zap of energy pulsed from it.

The creature—whatever it was—jerked backwards and flailed. Once it got back to its feet, the creature coughed and stretched. Yellow eyes stared at the girls in anticipation, and the lizard-thing paced forward fluidly.

Diana narrowed her eyes, holding her chin. _Something isn't right..._

Hannah, however, took no notice of Diana's hesitance—nor Barbara, for the matter. Hannah jutted her wand forward. "How about this?" A burst of fire bolted through the air, and this time, the creature was ready. It opened its mouth and engulfed it whole. "What— How the hell?" Hannah stammered, more annoyed than anything.

The dragon (if the warning wrapped around the iron maiden wasn't lying, but severely overestimating the thing) belched and twisted its body around itself.

On either side, the girls watched Diana for approval. Anything. All they received was her usual silence as she was engrossed in her observations. Neither could read the slow bewilderment that dawned her.

Hannah and Barbara, as one, stepped in front and pointed their wands. Blinding colors came from them once they shouted, and the dragon was consumed in smoke and bursts of light.

_Why is it not attacking?!_ Diana's eyes widened as its shadows warped into distortion. It roared. Hannah and Barbara grinned for their victory. Diana felt despicably ill.

Dread, regret and guilt consumed her all at once.

"Stop..." she croaked, her voice hoarse.

Neither did, and Diana grew nauseated.

"_Stop!_" she ordered.

Only Hannah faltered, briefly glancing over her shoulder.

"STOP!"

Diana strangled the middle of both of their robes and yanked them backwards roughly. They staggered to her sides; neither expected that kind of strength to come from her. It was almost..._unnatural_.

"What?" Hannah asked.

"W-Weren't we winning?"

"No," Diana gasped. "No. You... You were _feeding_ it."

The smoke dissipated, revealing the beast once more. It glared at Diana, eye-level, with teeth clenched and talons tapping. "[Now why would you stop them, child? Nao still needs to eat. I have been starved for centuries...]"

Hannah and Barbara flinched beside Diana and grasped her arms. The dragon's language was rough, biting with every vowel, and hissing with every consonant.

"[MORE! I NEED MORE!]" it boomed.

"[No!]"

The girls were startled by the guttural snarl that erupted from between them. Diana tightened her jaw before snapping, "[You are indeed a dragon then... What are you doing here, Nao?]"

"Y-You're talking to it?" Barbara squeaked.

Diana inhaled slowly, and quietly revealed, "Understanding the language of dragons has been passed down by my ancestors to me... I mastered it when I was twelve."

"[Very impressive, I must say. It is not easy for human throat, I know,]" it hissed.

"[You will answer my question, dragon.]"

The language was so vile and cruel—it had no right coming from Diana naturally. But it did. Alike the dragon, it was unsettling for the girls to hear. She really was a snake, wasn't she? Hannah and Barbara gulped and backed away steadily, leaving Diana to confront the dragon.

How much did they _really_ know her?

The dragon narrowed its eyes. "[No... You are ignorant, little child. Answer me _instead:_ what are _you_ doing down here? This is my chamber.]"

"[It shall not be for long. If this is your chamber, why have you been held captive?]"

It hissed and slithered its crawl towards her. "[You are insufferably perceptive... Nevertheless, _do not_ threaten me. I may be starved, but I still have enough sense to beat you down.]" That said, the dragon was impressed; Diana stood her ground, her eyes glued to his, unbroken. Even as it paced around her with the rhythmic body of a serpent. "[You are prideful, my dear, to a foolish degree...]" it hissed. "[You want to have left with that girl, do you not? Or, rather, have her stay with _us..._]"

Diana scowled. "[I do not know what you are talking about.]"

The dragon reared, leaving Barbara and Hannah to attach themselves to the wall in fright. It snorted and tossed its head. "[Liar!]" it bellowed. "[I do not like liars like _you!_ I am willing to interrupt my mean to teach you proper _civility at the presence of Nao!_]"

Diana staggered away as the dragon came upon her. But it was fruitless. Her wand was knocked away at her teammate's feet. Within a blink of an eye, it coiled and twisted around her body, forcing her to the ground. She struggled against the force, teeth grit. Her legs were clamped shut, and the dragon curled around her torso, talons at her shoulders, teeth by her ear.

"DIANA!" Barbara screamed.

"W-What do we do?!"

"Nothing!" Diana snapped, the dragon's hand cupping her jaw. "This dragon is my responsibility! Do not get in the way if you don't have to!" She then hissed, lowly, "[Let me go!]"

"[Nao's not going to... I smell what you reek. Shame. Confidence. And your _lie._]" Diana writhed as it held her in place, and it was only until unwanted feelings resurfaced did she realize what the dragon was doing.

It was mirroring Akko. But— But it _wasn't_ her. This was _wrong._ This monster—it had to stop.

She croaked and wriggled, but the dragon constricted.

"[I was elated when you children came down. And when you pointed your wand at me, I knew I would be released... You had the foolish conviction that you would do any harm to _me._ Did you not consider that I was an eater of magic?]"

Diana whimpered as its talon followed the curve of her neck to the base of her throat. She was trembling. _It saw everything... It— It knows everything._

"[I could barely contain my excitement! I could barely hear the rest of your conversation! But, you surprised me, child... You are just like any bitch I have come across,]" the dragon gloated. "[You liked being held down. Do not lie to me. There are holes in that cage.]"

It squeezed. Diana grunted, spitting, "[Y-You are vile...]"

"[I am observant,]" it hissed. "[You want her to mount you again—]"

"[_No!_]"

"[DO NOT LIE!]" Diana gasped, its scales rough against her skin. "[You want her to mount you again! Yes?!]" She shut her eyes, quivering, before barely nodding tearfully. "[It is curious, though,]" the dragon barked in boast, "[bitches usually want to be covered by _bucks_, not another bitch!]"

"[_Stop it!_]" Diana begged. "[Stop! I know! I _know!_]" The dragon's tight lips curled into a smirk. Her struggles continued. "[What do you want from me?]" she asked, quietly.

"[Nothing. You have no value to me,]" the dragon answered cruelly. "[Knowing I have brought you to your knees is enough for me, haughty child.]" It released Diana from her imprisonment, grooming itself as she coughed on all fours. She glared at the dragon defiantly, teeth bared. It mocked, "[What, are your feelings hurt?]"

She stood with trembling fists. It laughed heartily, then turned towards the cowering Hannah and Barbara. In broken english, it hissed, "Your friend _disgusting..._" They clung to each other, unable to tear their eyes away from the dragon's own. "Magic! I need magic!" It glared with a snarl, "_Now!_"

"[DO NOT TOUCH THEM!]"

The dragon's eyes were wide in shock. It twisted around to find Diana, a loathing glare dawning her azure eyes. Hannah and Barbara could only watch as Diana wrestled with the last of her inner restraints. They didn't know what exactly she was holding back, or how long it had been stewing for. "[I released you! If you are to leech magic from anyone, it will be from me!]"

The monster tensed itself, and dug its talons into the ground warningly. "[We... Shall... See...]"

With a mighty roar, it sped forward, starvation and insanity in its searing eyes. Diana charged forward, a livid fire in every stride. And then, she pounced.

Her figure warped and contorted itself with terrifying speed. The dragon shrieked in agony as a monstrous white snake sank her teeth into its neck, constricting around its body. It squirmed and writhed in immense pain, wailing to the Nine Olde Witches in its tongue.

Their bodies were an intertwined mass of a convulsing, thrashing battle, one that Hannah and Barbara couldn't keep away from. They were frozen in the wall, the two monsters—

No! _No!_ Diana wasn't a monster! She _couldn't_ have been! Hannah swallowed, holding Barbara tighter as the dragon and snake rocketed into the rock wall. From across the cavern, she saw black ooze infect the dragon's maroon scales from underneath the surface.

The dragon bucked and reared spastically until—finally—the snake was thrown off.

Both girls screeched as a fang clattered by their feet, a second before Diana's body was hurtled into the ground. She grunted and spat black blood onto the floor. Diana, shakily, got to her feet and wiped her mouth.

The dragon sank into the floor, wheezing, one eye partially closed with a leaking welt on its neck. It squinted at Diana with a sober clarity in its eyes. Her hair. Her skin. Her nose. But...not her eyes. No, not them.

How long had Nao been stuck in his cell again?

He blinked. "Cavendiss...?" Diana frowned; she saw that his eyes were not of primitive hunger, but of sophistication and confusion instead. "Cavendiss... M-Miss...Cavendiss... I— I so-orry..."

Then, the dragon took flight as if the cavern was water, diving into the path the witches took to enter the chamber.

Diana slumped into the wall with a groan, eyes closed as she hissed against her knuckles. Blood spilled from her mouth in fat drops onto the floor. And within red were ribbons of black. She hacked, startling Hannah and Barbara, and spat.

The rest of her canine clacked against the floor—roots and all.

She rested, hugging herself tightly with heaved breaths. Hannah, tentatively, crouched and picked up Diana's wand. Over her shoulder, Barbara stared on, worried. About the terrible truth that laid itself on a platter for her.

With a frown, she asked, quietly, "D-Diana...? A-Are you okay?"

Diana slid her gaze to them with her hand drenched in black blood—no red to be seen. "I... I'm fine."

"But—!" Hannah hoisted herself to her feet, a wand in each hand. "But you're missing a _tooth!_ Y-You were just attacked by that thing, and—"

"I'm _fine_, Hannah," Diana whispered weakly. "I am." She pushed herself off the wall and strode forward, unbalanced. Her last few steps towards the stairs up were staggered. Diana looked over her shoulder. "Come on. We— We have to leave."

Obediently, they did so. The three were quiet as they made their way up the stairs, with Diana forcing her numb body up the stairs, and Hannah and Barbara left to stare cautiously a few steps down. They didn't know to support her, or to stay several staircases away.

Apparently, their minds had already been made.

Immediately, once Diana lurched and gagged on her own surprised gasp, the two girls jolted forward, catching Diana around the waist. "N-_No!_" Diana snapped through a groan, wrenching herself away from the pair. She landed on the steps with her knees, and braced herself with one arm on the wall, the other hand clenching the explosion of pain in her jaw.

And then...she relaxed.

Diana got to her feet and turned around. "Do not touch me. I do not want you to get hurt," she said firmly.

"W-We're not a-afraid of you! We know you're n-not going to hurt us!" Barbara insisted. But her eyes were on Diana's fresh tooth—white and clean, as if it hadn't just replaced the gap.

A scoff was her reply. Diana shook her head and growled, "No, you are afraid of me. I can see it in your eyes. _Both_ of you." She paused, then brandished her arm. As a river of black oozed into the sleeve, the cloth was eaten away.

_Nelson's glove..._ Hannah recalled with wide eyes. _But...Diana, she—_

Diana's skin was just as flawless and smooth, even when painted with the venom. _Her_ _venom_.

"I do not want you to get hurt," Diana finished flatly. Her gaze softened at the sight of her terrified teammates, and she turned away. "I've been a bloody fool..."

Hannah immediately argued, "N-No! You—"

"Quit lying to me for the sake of flattery!" Diana snapped. "You and I both know that my arrogance had gotten the best of me all day!" she added coolly. Diana exhaled, then continued upwards. "Come on... We need to get out."

There wasn't an argument. Not a peep from either of the two girls. Instead, they tensed as Diana began to lick the dark blood away. They looked to each other.

_She... She really is a snake, isn't she...?_

_I-I don't know, Barbara._

Nevertheless, because Diana was their leader, they didn't question it further and instead followed, devoted.

**— — — — — — — — — —**

Sweet as thick honey. Savory as tender flesh. Sour as all citrus. Salty as the sea. Bitter as straight tea.

All at once.

Diana was truly disgusting, wasn't she? The dragon was correct. She was. The taste of her own venom was far too enticing for her own good—and blood was its only competitor. The smooth texture of the serum melted against her tongue, relaxing her tense shoulders. The ravenous ache in her chest quelled, satisfied.

Her eyes stung, and she blinked away the tears that prickled. As she wiped them with her sleeve, Diana felt fingertips graze her other arm.

In a panic, she jerked her sleeve away from Barbara. "I said _don't touch me!_"

Barbara, with her hand hovering, blinked. "I-I know... But— Diana? Your no—"

Before she could ask anything else, Diana turned herself away once the team's shadows shifted collectively. They froze, listening to the steps coming down the stairwell, and watched the glow of green light snake around the corner.

A witch poked her head out the curved wall, sheepishly curious. "A-Akko?" Diana whispered softly.

Atsuko crossed a few more steps quietly, eyes down, lips meek, and her hand rubbed the back of her neck. "Y-Yeah... Um. I was coming back to...see if you were...good, and uh...yeah." She worked her jaw and lifted her gaze. "I'm sorry for leaving like that. All of you. Hannah, Barbara, D— Diana..." She clasped her hands together and bowed. "I'm sorry."

Diana wrung her wrists, an intense guilt and unbearable regret teething within her. She remained quiet as Hannah and Barbara both grumbled their acceptance. "A-And I'm sorry too, Akko," she apologized gently. "I— I did and said things that I shouldn't have... I didn't mean any of it." She paused, avoiding Akko's gaze as she stood from her humble bow. "I don't believe you're dead weight, or useless..."

She felt Akko's gaze steady on her. "It's okay," Akko murmured, audibly distracted. "Diana, did something happen? Your nose is bleeding."

Stunned, Diana glanced at her before bringing her knuckle to her nose. Warm blood, _red_, dripped down her skin. She sucked on it, mouth watered at the taste of iron. "Yes, it seems so," she murmured. "And nothing happened," Diana lied. "We're just leaving."

"But..." Akko surveyed the blue team, lips pursed. After a long minute, she said, "Okay." Diana strode forward, and she walked beside her with the other two trailing behind.

With the lack of bubbly talk, and Akko's smile, Diana knew that Akko didn't take the lie. She knew that Akko saw right through her.

It didn't matter. Akko made no comment, so Diana didn't make conversation. Or whatever it was they usually had. Even so, the disappointment that fumed off of Akko was devastating.

Humiliating.

She didn't even notice when they reached the first floor. Akko lingered to cast a final glance before walking through the grand doors. For the first time, Diana strolled _behind_ Hannah and Barbara, lost in her ravaging thoughts.

_"[You had the foolish conviction that you would do any harm to me. Did you not consider that I was an eater of magic?]"__  
_

Diana swallowed, clutching her wrist firmly. They were in the dungeon hall, and she barely heard Lotte and Sucy's excitement (the latter's was, albeit, almost mute) for Akko's safe return. Some of the other teams lingered, organizing their loot.

_"[You liked being held down. Do not lie to me.]"_

_No... No, I didn't. I couldn't have. _She rested herself on a stone bench to Professor Ursula's concerned order. Hannah and Barbara were at her left, shadowing Diana from the torch's glow on the wall, and the red team looked on a few meters away.

"Diana, does it hurt at all?!" Ursula's distant voice asked, the glow of her wand blurred as Diana grimaced; she felt the tissue inside her nose mend together.

"N-No, Professor. It's fine..."

_"[You want to have left with that girl, do you not? Or, rather, have her stay with _us..._]"_

Those fleeting moments. In the classrooms. Out on the field. Across the halls. Diana thought back to Atsuko's rust eyes, how they would slide to meet her own for a quiet, shared second. They were of curiosity, sizing each other up—or, so, Diana thought.

Her fist tightened.

"Do you girls have anything?"

_"[And when you pointed your wand at me, I knew I would be released...]"__  
_

Diana clutched her forehead tenderly, eyes closed. Hannah was the one to answer, though Diana barely heard her: "W-Well, no. We lost what we found..."

"That's quite alright. This was for participation anyway."

_"[You are prideful, my dear...]" _

"You four were the last ones, so you weren't here for it. The yellow team found the most valuable item in there," Ursula mused, nodding towards Wangari, who held a glimmering wand proudly with the others.

"What did we get...?" Akko had murmured, catching Diana's attention.

Opened her azure eyes and watched from underneath her fingers. Lotte answered, "We're fifth, thanks to that scroll you tripped over! Turns out it's one of the legends of the Nine Olde Witches!"

"For once, your lack of spacial awareness did us good," Sucy grumbled with a hint of glee.

_"You know, just because you're Diana and all that, I can still get more stuff!"_

Diana hummed to herself and leaned against the wall, arms folded. _So you did, Akko. You proved me wrong..._

Hannah and Barbara sat on either side of her, so small and so timid. "H-Hey, Diana," the latter asked, "Ursula said that because this was an extensive class, the rest are cancelled today."

"Yeah," Hannah added, "isn't that good?"

Uncharacteristically, Diana nodded in agreement, her eyes locked on the red team. They were...a unit. That of kinship. Not of devoted followers with Diana to lead. She thinned her lips. They were more than just a team. They were more than what Diana desperately wanted since she was young: true, loyal, _friends._

_"[Knowing I have brought you to your knees is enough for me, haughty child.]"__  
_

But, most of all, she was startled by how _un-childlike_ Akko appeared. Without her hair tied back, her uneven bangs nearly covered her eyes. She found her raw strength and pride within herself as Akko embraced Lotte and Sucy in a tight hug, unbothered by the many cuts and bruises that littered her skin. Diana saw the woman she'd grow into someday—the woman that Akko revealed rarely. And...she reminded her of her father, and her mother. The traits she admired as a little girl, now with a matured, unadulterated lens.

_"[You want her to mount you again! Yes?!]"__  
_

Diana tightened her jaw and boosted herself out of her seat. Wordlessly, she left, leaving Barbara and Hannah to scramble after her. She ignored Akko's need for a lunch, passing Professor Ursula at the end of the hall.

Though Ursula, instead of paying her no mind, paid close attention.

The peculiarities of Diana stuck out to her as a sore thumb. Within those eyes, Ursula something lurk inside. Something unnerving. She couldn't quite put a finger on it, however. It was at the tip of her tongue.

Almost.

Ursula slipped off her glasses, cleaned them, and pinched the bridge of her nose when she raised to slide them back on. That feeling buried in her gut, it hadn't let up. _A day of destiny... A day of destiny_—that was its mantra. But she couldn't wrap her head around it. Ursula tried to warn Akko. Had she failed? Something happened—something big.

_But...what exactly?_

**— — — — — — — — — —**

In the blue team's suite, lightning crackled behind its wide window, illuminating Diana's pacing shadow. Thunder pounded not a second later, muting Diana's creaking steps against the floorboard. Both Hannah and Barbara watched from the couch, a green spirit in the lantern between them. It had been several hours since dinner, and the nightly patrols were relinquished from their duties only minutes prior. The grandfather clock by the door struck eleven-thirty.

This wasn't a sight that Hannah and Barbara ever thought they'd see, let alone one they imagined for the briefest of moments.

Diana Cavendish was afraid.

While the pair were in their bed clothes, Diana still wore her messily-done uniform—which had been slipped on after immediately after her distress once back from the dungeon. Her vest had been left on her bed, along with the tie and sash. The buttons of her white shirt were undone three-down. Her hair, instead of proper and collected, was wild. Erratic.

Hannah tapped the wand in her hand against her opposite palm while Barbara rubbed the spine of an old notebook. It had been her great-grandfather's on her mother's side, something that Barbara had debated lugging back to Luna Nova.

She thought back to his words years and years ago, when she was just a little girl: _"Snakes aren't evil creatures—don't believe any of that... They're just frighteningly frightened. They will lash out and strike if you get in their way—if you threaten them. But, they truly mean no harm, most of the time."_

Diana held her mouth, her eyes kept to the floor.

_"They're just...frightened to the bone."_

Barbara's grip around the book tightened. _"_You _don't GET IT! ..._ _I HAVE NO DESIRE TO BE HUMILIATED BY THE LIKES OF AKKO, OR EITHER OF YOU _ANYMORE!_"_

_"More so than you, most of the time..."_

Hannah continued to play absentmindedly with the wand. Her own was still tied to her sash, resting on her nightstand. "Barbara...?" she whispered quietly.

"Yeah...?"

"You... You know the gophers we found a few weeks ago?"

Barbara hummed tightly.

"And... And that they died the day after we found them?" Hannah sat up, resting her hands still. "Y-You don't think that it was Diana, do you?"

"I don't think, Hannah... I know."

Hannah clenched her jaw and breathed deeply. "And... And the bird we found?" She turned to catch Barbara's nod. They caught each other's eyes. To Hannah's silent question, she nodded.

Together, they stood and walked to Diana, who paused in her pacing. "What is it, girls?" Diana asked softly.

"W-What are we going to do?" Barbara murmured.

Diana slumped into an armchair, spent. "I don't know."

Hannah asked, "Did... Did you research the dragon?"

There was a nod. "It is of Japanese origin. They are able to fly without wings, and have far more abilities than their European counterparts, though weaker physically... They can shapeshift into humans—" Hannah and Barbara shared a look— "for one thing, which requires more magical energy to sustain, which suggests they are more magically-inclined..."

Diana rested her head in her hands with a collapsed breath. "By the Nine... I'm a goddamn fool..."

"N-No! You're not! Y-You just made a mistak—"

"Releasing an ancient dragon is a _mistake?!_" Diana snapped, her head jerked from her hands. Hannah flinched and sunk into herself. With a remorseful wince, Diana breathed, "I— I'm sorry, Hannah, I didn't mean to snap like that."

"I-I know... It's okay..." Barbara nudged her side, and Hannah held out the wand. "You dropped this...in the dungeon." Diana reclaimed her wand solemnly. Hannah swallowed, and asked, "D-Diana... Diana, we need to ask you something important."

Barbara flipped through the notebook and held it to Diana as the witch braced herself in the chair.

_These mythical creatures are not creatures at all. They are witches or warlocks that can transform into snakes—often favoring certain breeds over others, though are known to reflect different aspects of different snakes at once. These are the rarest forms of those who can turn into creatures without metamorphosis, such as devil-hounds, werewolves and bats/other rodents._

"You never used magic to turn yourself into that snake, did you? You don't _need_ it, right?"

_And on top of their rarity, these beings are dangerous with venoms that are unique to every one. They often guard treasures, territories or other people, and are the omen of death._

"A basilisk... That's what you are, isn't it?"

Diana closed her eyes, brows tight with lines of sorrow, and nodded. "Before I could use magic as I can now..." She watched Barbara and Hannah, who were both struck numb with her confirmation. "Beatrix Cavendish may be our namesake, but the Cavendish lineage is marked by the ability... That is our shared trait that skips a generation."

She gave a broken laugh, then nodded at Barbara's book. "But I suppose you already knew that, didn't you? Your grandfather was a Henderson, wasn't he? Your family hunted mine centuries ago..."

"Yes, that's true," Barbara mumbled. She closed the book and held it between both hands. It wasn't a good feeling to learn that your ancestors may have very well killed many of your best-friend's own, crippling the line for few heirs. Crippling the line to one descendant that very day, who—by chance—was her pupil.

Hannah held herself. "I... Did you kill all of those animals? Were you the one—" At Diana's nod, she silenced herself, eyes to the ground.

"I'm sorry," Diana whispered through a broken cry. "I... I wouldn't if I could. I never wanted to hurt either of you, nor those animals. I have no control in those moments, no memory or conscious."

She turned away from them, in shame. Barbara and Hannah glanced at one another before turning back to their dear friend. "Diana..." Barbara promised, "we— We swear we're not going to tell anyone. Not a soul. We just... We just wanted to know from you."

Diana nodded, heaved a tired breath, and got to her feet. "I...shall get to bed," she said slowly.

"Oh..." Hannah murmured, "Well, before that—" She threw her arms around Diana in a warm embrace, catching the witch off-guard. Barbara tossed the book aside and joined her immediately. "I-I know you don't really hug much, but you know we're here for you, right? We won't tell anybody, we swear."

"Yeah," Barbara muffled against Diana's shoulder. "And I'm not the rest of my family, Diana. You're safe with me."

Diana, unsure of where to put her hands, rested them around her friends and relaxed. _Is this...the loyalty of friends?_

Tears escaped her dam, and her composure buckled underneath itself. "Thank-you," she sobbed into them.

"Thank-you..."

**— — — — — — — — — —**

"[Let me out...]"

Whispers flowed through the cracks of the dungeons' doors, accompanied by urging scratches.

"[Let me out... Let me feed...]"

No one came by that night. There were no duties to be done down there. The dragon scowled, grimacing as it palmed the puncture wound at its neck. "[Ack, she bit hard. I need to feed soon otherwise...]" It paused. After all, _it_ was the real fool for attacking a Cavendish. For a brief second, the dragon's thoughts were clear and free of panicked hunger. But not from its guilt, and its shame. "[I am sorry, Beatrix. I have failed you... But...I am still hungry, and I must feed.]" The dragon furrowed its brows and played with its goatee. Its stomach thought for it. It sniffed the air, allowing the surging sensation in its chest to guide it.

There was a Sorcerer's Stone. It felt its energy in the air around it, fueling every possible being. Although, there was something else—no, _someone_. Wait... Two? It doubted that there'd be the one, but...even still, there was something strange about the aura of _one._

The dragon inhaled. "[Now that...is curious. The last time I have felt a witch's presence that strong was from you, Beatrix... How interesting. She is not the same, but she is too...]" It grunted and clutched its stomach. Gasping, it muttered, "[Forgive me, though Beatrix. I must feed... I need to. I cannot serve Luna Nova otherwise...]" The dragon hissed and resumed its scratching.

"[Feed me. I am starving... Let me out... Let me out...]"

* * *

_Hope you enjoyed!_

_:)_


	7. Pt I - Trapped Witches

_Quick little thing here: I have gone through and edited/reworked the chapters before this one. I've tidied up plot points that I didn't really know what I was going to do before. If you want to go back and reread so you can get a better context and tone, that is fine by me, but if you want to just continue reading as is, that is also fine. However, if you are going to just continue onwards, I would highly suggest you revisit the last chapter because I did make drastic changes from the middle-onward in terms of dialogue and, again, context._

_With that out of the way, hope you enjoy!_

_:)_

* * *

**~ Blood of Magic ~**

**Part 1  
TRAPPED WITCHES  
[OVA(ish)]**

* * *

She stretched before wandering up the stairs to the overhang in the observatory. Ursula yawned, then leaned against the railing to gaze up at the moon. She pursed her lips, eyes kept on the star-crossed scar left on its surface. The mark of an innocence's end.

Professor Ursula broke away from the moon and its taunting. She grasped the windowsill tightly and pushed away. With her eyes down, she took the mug resting beside her. She drained the last of it, embracing the heat that scorched her throat.

Until, that is, her door pounded.

Ursula jumped and nearly dropped her drink, hacking through each fist she slammed to her chest. She was sporadic as she maneuvered down the stairs to the main floor of her suite. "I-I'm coming! I'm coming!" she hollered, voice rough.

She whisked a robe off a hook on the wall, which jerked a white crow-familiar from his slumber. "Sorry, Alcor. You can get back to sleep." Alcor, disgruntled, settled his feathers and slipped his head back under his wing. The shit old birds had to put up with...

Ursula opened the door, surprised by the massive golem's presence. "Yes, is there something wrong?" she asked, concerned from his visible anxiety.

The golem fidgeted, tipped his red worker's hat, then said, "The Labyrinth Tower, Missus. It's..."

She frowned and tilted her head. "What?"

"There's scratchin' at the door. And strange growls."

"Strange growls," she echoed hollowly. Once her eyes were set to the ground in thought, Ursula picked them up and asked, "What do you mean by 'strange'? Are they...loud? Quiet?"

"No, well...in the middle, I guess," the golem answered, fixing his red hat on his head, unsure as what to do with himself. The golem slipped it off and rubbed it between his hands. "It's, like, strange. It's like a broken record."

_A day of destiny... _Ursula's eyes widened, and fear struck her chest before plummeting towards her gut. "Do you mean it sounds like the voice is_ talking?_"

"Yeah... Like how english was before I learnt it. And some of the others said it's been goin' on for nearly a day. Thought it was some minotaur or somethin'," the golem explained, diving into the heart of what Ursula needed to hear. "But when I came on by," he said further, "I went and I heard it and knew there was somethin' wrong. It wasn't like no grunts or growls. It's...strange growls. They repeat themselves."

_Oh no. _Ursula went into a panic. _It can't be. I told her not to open it. If Akko didn't...then who...? _

"Go and block all the entrances to the dungeons. We mustn't let that dragon loose!"

The golem widened his eyes. "Dragon?!" He nodded in a rush and said, "Yes, I will do that right now. Would you like me to do anything else?"

"I'll handle everything else. Thank-you!" She shut the door behind her and the janitor. As the golem jogged away, she rushed down the stairs moments later.

This was something she had to tell the headmistress in person.

Immediately.

A small part of her regretted hosting the class in the dungeons, but was quickly reminded that it was an assignment given at this time of the year anyway. And no student had ever managed to reach the depths of the dungeons before. There shouldn't have been a worry.

Yet..there was, which was why she warned Akko.

Ursula cursed to herself. She could've gone by broom. As heat swarmed her chest, throat then head, she charged forward. Her back prickled and hair tossed, rich blue replaced by fiery red. Already her heels were hot, and her calves ached. But neither inconvenience rivaled the pain blooming in her chest. The anxiety and turmoil of it all.

She desperately hoped that Akko wasn't the cause of all of this.

She desperately, desperately hoped that it had been a coincidence. The star's somehow aligned. The cards worked against them.

The scarred moon played another, horrible trick.

— — — — — — — — — —

She fixed her crossover tie before she folded the collar of her button-up. Her socks were smooth and knee-high. From her wardrobe, her witch's gown was slipped off its hanger. It was then pulled over her head with ease. The dress hugged her body with crisp lines—from the ironing the previous week. She pulled her platinum and lime hair from its hood. Everything was immaculate. Pristine. Diana _was_ a Cavendish, after all. She was the face of tradition and grace, disciplined with poise. No matter what was brewing inside.

_"[I still have enough sense to beat you down.]"_

Diana buckled the belt around her waist and scowled, her eyes on her other witch's gown, which was cast off to the corner of the room. The cuts and venom-torn holes frayed the fabric, condemning the gown to never be worn again. Her jaw grew tight. That gown was far from grace. Every tear betrayed just how untraditional and ravaged she was the mere day before.

_"[And when you pointed your wand at me, I knew I would be released...]"_

The young witch sat at her desk and combed her hair thoroughly. Every knot, every stray curl—any kink in her hair that devolved Diana from her name was worked out. With lips tight and eyes focused to her lamp, she avoided Hannah and Barbara's brief glances from around her bookshelf. Diana swallowed her dismay and regret, and then pulled her boots up to her knees once satisfied with her hair.

_"[You are prideful, my dear, to a foolish degree...]"_

Across the suite, Hannah and Barbara—too—were silent with a mutual yearn to know what was going through the Cavendish's mind. They were put-off. _Startled_, even. They had no inkling of the war that stressed her, leaking deep into Diana's shoulders.

And it was no wonder: Diana Cavendish was calm and collected, not a hair out of place nor a speck of dust on her wardrobe. Faultless. As any Cavendish would be.

It…scared them.

_"[You are just like any bitch I have come across...]"_

But, what was there to be disquieted by? Diana had _always_ been so. That was why their parents pooled their money for them to dorm with such a name—in a suite, no less. _"You must know how to associate yourself with important people, Barbara,"_ and, _"There will come a day, Hannah, that you'll see what this will do for you..."_ they had said. _"This is how you will get started if you really want to be a researcher, Barbara!"_ and, _"Hannah, wouldn't this be the perfect way to find your place with a nice husband and estate?" _they had added.

Now, it wasn't as if either of the girls fought against it. They _wanted_ to room with _the_ Diana Cavendish. For the name, and because she was very pretty and seemed to be a good resource for studying—if the Cavendish title said anything.

Ever so faultless. Ever so calm and collected.

Ever so...mysterious.

_"[You liked being held down. Do not lie to me.]"_

Hannah watched Diana stand at her desk, paused for a moment. Even faultless, Hannah couldn't help but imagine her white scales just underneath the surface. Long, terrifying fangs. Black venom. Slit eyes... Hannah was unsettled, her hands frozen at her boot. She thought of the night before, when they had climbed into bed, numb. Neither her nor Barbara slept. _"What do we do…? S-Surely the headmistress would understand."_

_"No, Hannah,"_ Barbara had breathed against her pillow. _"You're always too optimistic. They would kill her."_

_"W-Why?!"_

Hannah vividly remembered her best friend's stare—hardened, torn, grim. _"Witches blame basilisks for killing magic first."_

And…the truth was, once watching Diana fight the dragon, Hannah found that she couldn't care about being a noble, or her parents' wishes, or the suite, or _anything_ that mattered before. If her parents knew, Hannah didn't have to guess: they would join and see to it a basilisk was killed. Like any noble witch family, magic was pride. It was _everything._

She jolted at the sound of students flooding out of their dorms just outside the blue team's door. She swallowed and shook her head. Beside her, Barbara slipped her wand in her belt. They shared a look. A nonverbal agreement was made: no matter how curious they were, how tempting it was to know, neither girl would ask what the dragon had said to Diana. They knew it had shaken her to the core. Frightened her. _Angered_ her.

Both knew Diana was still quite afraid and livid, though they weren't sure to what ratio.

_"[Bitches usually want to be covered by bucks, not another bitch!]"_

With their hats, they stood to attention as Diana stepped out from her bookshelf, dawning her own. Diana watched them carefully, her crystal eyes now with new layers—ones that they hadn't caught on beforehand. Without a word, Diana turned. They followed her to the door obediently, no questions asked, and no breaths audible. Diana opened the door with a confident swing, though her eyes betrayed her.

For the first time, Barbara could _read_ them. And in that moment, Diana was petrified. That, alone, sparked terror within Barbara; she didn't have to look at Hannah to know it had left her best friend frighteningly ill.

_"[You want her to mount you again!]"_

The corridors of Luna Nova's dorms were swarmed with students, all ushering one another to the central hall with their chatter and banter and morning greetings. To watch every single one move themselves away felt powerful to Hannah and Barbara. They were the team without a smile on their face, the air around them seeping regality and respect. It was…strange. Gratifying, but parallel to their growing worries. For the first time, Hannah and Barbara weren't just a pair following Diana, they were a unified trio. And to have quiet intimidation with loud adoration in the crowd of students was alien to Hannah and Barbara. This is what their parents wanted for them, and they wanted it too.

Or, they thought they did. Perhaps they did to an _extent,_ but now, they had plummeted into the role. On either side, Hannah and Barbara both shot warning glares to ward away the awed gazes that ever so desperately wanted to catch Diana.

Now, they needed to protect her. That was their role. Not for the namesake. Not for the glory.

And both felt they paid a heavy price for it. One that was permanent.

_"[Do not lie to me.]"_

Hannah, briefly, watched Diana for a moment, with the same intense awe and deep admiration in her eyes, which were fractured by her covert unease. Even as a first-year, there were second and third-years following their team through the crowd to the assembly. Following Diana. Following _her_ and Barbara. They were a unit. They were a trio.

_"Your friend _disgusting..._"_

Both Hannah and Barbara sworn themselves as Diana's true champions—who would protect her dark secret and reputation at all costs. No longer did they care about the glory or appeal of being associated with a Cavendish. In those corridors, surrounded by students, they silently broke themselves away from their parents' wishes.

They were, without a doubt, Diana's _friends_.

And they would be by her side, regardless if the world burned around them.

_I, Diana Cavendish, deserve nothing of the sort. I am a monster. I have failed my name. I have failed Luna Nova._

_I have failed Hannah and Barbara._

_I have failed Akko._

— — — — — — — — — —

Akko couldn't even enjoy her few groggy minutes of staring blankly at her Shiny Chariot poster when the door was bashed open. She jolted upright, smacked her head against Lotte's bunk—which startled the poor girl, sending her Nightfall book to the floor—while Sucy spun in her stool at the extended desk.

Amanda, in her witch's hat and cloak, had her hand planted firmly on the door, stance wide. "I thought you guys wouldn't have heard. There's an assembly starting in thirty!"

"What?" Lotte asked. "It's not on the schedule. Why is there—"

"It's not on the schedule," Amanda said. "It's about the class in the dungeon yesterday. Something happened."

Akko, who'd been rubbing her sore cranium, snapped her attention to the door. "What do you mean, 'something'?"

"I don't know. Nelson was barging into the dorm rooms at my end telling us to get up—and that we would have to tell you first-years..." She paused, and it was then the red team heard the active corridor outside of their hallway, and the similar interruptions at their neighbors' doors. "I heard it was like something got out," Amanda answered. "Anyway, we need to go. Nelson wasn't messing around. She said anybody who wasn't there would be suspended."

And with that, the second-year left for another dorm.

Akko sat on her bed as Sucy shut the door, and Lotte hopped down. As her teammates dressed themselves hurriedly (and Amanda shouted, "GET UP YOU FIRST-YEAR _LOSERS!_ I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR SLEEP, MOVE IT!"), she stared at the floor in thought.

Sucy snickered, listening to the groans of the lime team on the other side of the wall. Lotte, meanwhile, hopped to slip her long socks on. "Akko? Aren't you going to— ...Akko?"

Atsuko rushed to her wardrobe in one motion, and was quick to change out of her pajamas and into her white, pressed blouse and tie. As she pulled on her socks, she scowled. "I fucking told her... I _fucking_ told her not to open the damn—"

Akko swore violently once she tore a hole in her sock, which she had jerked to her knee.

"Uh... What are you talking about?" Sucy asked, fixing her belt.

"I know what got out," Akko answered immediately.

Lotte and Sucy stared at Akko, utterly bewildered. Never—_absolutely never_—in the three months they knew her had they ever seen Akko livid. Annoyed? Sure. Angry? Yes. But in every single one of those instances, she was quick to carve a smile across her lips, and her eyes always lit up with play.

Akko glared into the mirror, her hair-tie between her teeth as she pulled back her long bangs. Once they were tied, she yanked on her boots.

"What...do you mean you _know?_" Lotte asked quietly, massaging the brim of her hat between her hands.

"Did you have anything to do with it?"

Without missing a beat, Akko turned around and snapped, "Fuck off! You know I wouldn't try to do anything after what happened in the beginning of the week!"

Sucy raised her hands and retorted, "How am I supposed to know, Akko? You pull this bullshit all the time. What's so different now?"

"Because I didn't ask for dragons to attack me, Sucy!" Akko snarled. "I— Okay, look, _sorry. _But here's the thing: the _'something'_ that got out was the dragon in the iron maiden."

Lotte's eyes widened. "W-_What?!_ You said nothing happened after you fell!"

"Yeah, because nothing happened with _me!_"

"Then how do you know it was that dragon?!" Sucy interrogated.

"Because I _saw_ it! We landed in the last level, and it was there!" Akko argued, wand shoved into her belt. "I left as soon as I could!"

"Then you _did_ have something to do with it!" Akko shook her head and wrenched the door open. "Don't fucking roll your eyes at me, Akko!" Sucy growled, trudging after her with Lotte at the edge of her long cloak.

"A-Akko!" Lotte called. Their teammate had halted at the edge of the hall, attempting to worm her way into the herd of students (who shoved into her in turn). "Akko, hold on, we have to go in together!" Once overtaking Sucy and reaching her side, Lotte rested her hand on Akko's shoulder, who jumped in surprise. "Just... Just breathe for a moment, okay?"

"What?"

"Just do it!"

Akko blinked, chewed the inside of her cheek, then obliged. After a few seconds, she sighed. "Okay, fine, I did it."

"Okay," Lotte said sweetly as Sucy exhaled behind her. "Now…what's going on with you? Why are you being so aggressive? It's not like you."

"I-I know… It's just— _Hey!_" Akko growled as yet _another_ witch shoved herself against her shoulder, sending Akko to bump into Lotte. _Why is everybody just standing— Oh..._

Diana.

The blue team walked with purpose, as one. Neither Hannah or Barbara spared a glance at Akko to gloat. Atsuko frowned, teeth gritted. Their lack of mockery was yet another convicting piece of evidence. Without warning, Akko squeezed through the crowd for Lotte and Sucy to grumble after her. Akko soon staggered forward until she was practically a few arm's lengths away from them. She watched Diana's shoulder with a tight brow.

As they rounded the corner—when Sucy and Lotte joined her side, though she didn't hear what they had to say—Barbara looked over her shoulder. Akko stare was hardened. Questioning.

Barbara turned away, nudged Diana, and they split paths into the assembly hall.

Akko scowled as she watched them clamber to the benches above her row.

— — — — — — — — — —

Gossip and chatter buzzed around her. About the early hour of the abrupt assembly, or about the exciting plans that weekend offered. Many were eager to get to bed, while others hoped to be able to get out into the town.

In stark contrast, Diana, Barbara and Hannah were silent, hands clasped together. Eyes were fixed on different parts of the room. Hannah to the podium, where the professors quietly spoke to each other. Barbara to her hands, which played in her lap. Diana to Akko's shoulder benches below.

Akko, who would watch Diana from over her shoulder, lips a fine line and jaw tight. And every time, Diana broke away.

The three were surprised once Avery—the violet team having been sat directly behind them—tapped Barbara's arm. "Hey…what do you think it's about?"

Barbara cleared her throat and spoke the first complete sentence that day: "I don't know."

"You sound tired, Barbs," Avery murmured in concern. She glanced at the other two. "You both look tired too."

"Well, we couldn't get much sleep," Hannah mumbled.

Diana remained silent, her eyes set on the podium as Headmistress Holbrooke stepped up.

"Good morning, ladies," she started. "I am sorry to have stolen you from your beds like this, but it cannot be helped. There is an urgent announcement that I must make to you all." Hannah and Barbara tensed beside Diana, their hands on her knees. She took them and rubbed their knuckles anxiously. "As many of you know, yesterday there was a class of first-years and some second-years that went into the dungeons underneath the Labyrinth Tower. It has come to our attention, however, that a beast was let loose from its chambers and now roams freely in the dungeon. Luckily, it has yet to leave."

The blue team were tightly knitted together, shoulders pressed, huddled. Barbara whispered so only the other two could hear: "Do they know what it is?"

"This will explain why the Labyrinth Tower is off-limits as of now. The doors have been sealed entirely..."

Diana nodded. "They have to if they're not going to capture it."

"But...what will they do about it?" Hannah whispered. "Are they going to try and do something with everything closed? Isn't it captured already?"

"No..." Diana answered gravely. "There are open ducts that lead outside from the dungeons."

"From what we know, the beast came from the lowest level—" Diana felt Akko's piercing stare on her and closed her eyes, suppressing _everything— _"and is extremely dangerous. If it ever gets out, do _not_ go outside. We shall deal with the matter once it comes."

Barbara, after a gulp, whispered, "Why aren't they telling us what it is?"

"They want to know who let it out," Diana murmured.

"We shall work around this for the meantime. Your weekend will go as planned, though there will be heavy restrictions with business outside the castle."

"And...if we tell them? What will happen?"

Diana pursed her lips. Hollowly, she said, "I'd be expelled from Luna Nova."

The two girls beside her shifted, nervous. "B-But... We both were there too."

"You two are not responsible for this," Diana hissed quietly. "I am. I will tell Headmistress once I get the chance."

— — — — — — — — — —

The thundering of her boots down a long corridor were enough to send the other witches their way. Sucy and Lotte were barely able to keep up at a brisk walk. Her rust eyes swept across the hallway, and her teeth were clenched tight. No witch wanted to be a foot from her—and not because she was obnoxious or caught up in her usual antics. No. Atsuko Kagari was a raging bull with horns. Spear-headed. Furious. Unusually intimidating.

"A-Akko...! W-Wait up! What's gotten into you?!"

"I need to _find her!_" Akko repeated for the tenth time that hour. "She's not in her damn suite! She's completely avoiding me after the assembly!"

"Probably because you're acting like a maniac!" Sucy sniped. All three knew that was an understatement. Akko nearly picked up and shook the elf that was by the blue team's dorm. If it wasn't for Lotte reeling her back by the hood, Akko may have rattled the magic out of the poor thing. And _that_ wasn't counting how Akko nearly melted, snapped, and shattered the doorknob off (which was controlled by Sucy's voice of monotoned reason).

Lotte agreed: "Yeah, Akko! You need to calm down! I'm sure Diana will hel—"

Akko finally slammed herself to a halt before spinning at the heel. "_Help us?!_ I'm not looking for her _help!_ I need to talk to her!"

"Talk—"

Professor Finnelan's footsteps and sharp voice cut across Sucy: "Miss Kagari! May I have a word with you and the headmistress?"

Akko's eyes chipped over her teammate's shoulders to the woman as she approached, hands on her hips. Akko's unaltered fury that equally met Finnelan's quiet umbrage spoke volumes. "I didn't do it! I didn't let anything out!" Akko snapped before charging off.

Aghast, Anne didn't even move from her spot. "I-I... W-We'll go get her now, Professor Finnelan," Lotte assured, rushing after Akko. She huffed at a run, now peeved. "Akko! You cannot talk to a professor like that!"

"I don't care! I didn't do it!" Akko cut through a group of witches. "Now where— _THERE YOU ARE!_"

Diana, Hannah and Barbara, stunned, whirled their attention around. None of the team members from either blue or red were able to evade Atsuko's furious grasp at Diana's shoulder before she dragged the witch into an empty classroom. And when they blinked themselves from their stupor, the four scrambled after them.

Inside the classroom, the two struggled. Diana grabbed the wrist with its connecting hand anchored to her shoulder. "Akko!" Diana gasped, stumbling backwards until she hit a wall. Her arms were pinned against the brick at the bicep. "A-_Akko! _What the hell are you—"

The crack in Akko's voice silenced her: "Why did you do it?! Why did you open it, Diana?!" The classroom door was shut by Sucy, leaving Hannah, Barbara and Lotte to dash towards the girls. Diana struggled for words and barely shook her head. "_Answer me!_" Akko spat, shaking her by the arms. "What the fuck, Diana?! Everybody is going to think _I_ did it! And they're not going to listen to me like _you_ fucking didn't!" Angry tears began to bead in her eyes, and it left the witch trapped against the wall quiet for a long minute. "Diana…! Diana, fucking _answer_ me!" she pled through choked words.

"Akko..." Diana whimpered. "A-Akko, please—"

"Get away from her."

Both Diana and Akko were startled by Hannah's low voice, a pair of wands aimed at the unofficial red team leader. Hannah and Barbara mirrored one another. Emotionless, they glared at Akko, who still had Diana pinned to the wall. "Akko. Get. Away. From. Her," Hannah snarled.

Lotte swallowed and quivered at the spot. "U-Uh... Hey, why don't we just calm down and—and figure things out without wands...?" she squeaked, her hands out.

"Now!" Barbara snarled, ignoring Lotte's plea.

Diana exhaled and tightened her jaw. She whispered, "You two...step away. Please. W-We can't do this with magic… We're not in the right." Barbara and Hannah's sure glares faltered to reveal their guilt and immeasurable, stressed duty to Diana, and quickly their wands were stashed away. Diana clenched her hands as she felt the brick begin to dig further into her skin. "Akko..." Diana whispered softly, "please, let go."

And...as much as Sucy and Lotte expected Akko to blow up, she didn't. Instead, Akko backed away, hands raised. The six students stood in silence, listening to the voices in the hall.

After a long minute, Lotte asked, "D-Diana...? Did you really release a dragon?"

Diana swallowed, still against the wall with her arms folded. "I did," she replied with a broken voice. "It's a Japanese dragon named Nao... He was starved for being locked up for so long..." She rested a hand on her chest, her eyes lingering on the pair of hats—wearing red and blue bands—that had been knocked to the ground from Akko's aggravation. "And... And Akko did try to stop me, but I-I didn't listen."

Akko's nose was scrunched at the nostrils. "Why?" she growled. "I told you everything before, and you didn't listen to me. Is it because I'm less than you?!"

Diana's eyes widened at the accusation. "No!" she snapped. "Of course not! Why the hell— Why would you make that claim?!"

"What do you plan to do about it?!" Akko countered. Her eyes narrowed, prodding Diana. Testing her. "You're going to try and fix this yourself, aren't you?"

"I-I am responsible for this, therefore I should be a part of it!" Diana retorted.

Akko shook her head. "Right... Of course you should. Perfect-fucking-Diana. I'm _sick_ of it!" She thrusted her finger towards Diana's chest and hissed, "You always think you're the best chance anybody else has, don't you?! You think you can fix this like any other fucking thing, _don't you?!_"

"A-Akko!"

"Don't _lie_ to me!" Akko spat.

Diana froze, momentarily staring into the eyes of a dragon. In a dark cavern. Shivering with scales and fangs beckoning her. She bared her teeth and snarled, "I HAVE TO BE! I CAN'T— I can't just sit around and watch people like _you_ ruin what's there! I can't trust anybody else's judgement when I have my own! What do you know about what I can do?!"

"I know you're too fucking stuck up your own ass to see anything else!"

Hannah stepped forward and snapped, "That's not true! She protected us when the dragon attacked and it ran flew off! _You_ are the one who doesn't know anything!"

"I WARNED HER! SHE COULD'VE AVOIDED THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE!" Akko exploded. "If you three fucking followed me when I said, you wouldn't have to been in any trouble! But no! You all—"

The building trembled, and the six stumbled to the wall or desks for balance. And then, a shadow erupted from the windows. A long train of scales swarmed the glass, almost never-ending. They heard its cackle of freedom through the walls.

"My god..." Barbara whispered. "I-It grew..."

After a slow fifteen seconds, the end of the dragon's tail clipped their view, and its victorious roar was bellowed into the clouds.

Diana was a ghostly shade of white. She stared blankly out of the windows. Akko, her eyes narrowed at the back of her neck, murmured, "This is going to be just like the tree, Diana..." Without another word, Akko snatched her hat from the ground, and then stormed out of the classroom with a hesitant Lotte and mute Sucy behind her, the door handle bashed against the opposite wall.

Barbara and Hannah watched the splattering of students spin to avoid the team as they stalked down the hallway. The former turned around and gasped, "Diana!"

The pair found her on her knees, her hands covering her face. They immediately crouched beside her, Hannah with her hand on Diana's shoulder, and Barbara her back.

"W-What have I done...?" Diana whispered. "Fuck... What have I done?"

* * *

_Hope you enjoyed!_

_:)_


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